View source for Joseph Stalin

{{Short description|Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953}}
{{Redirect|Stalin}}
{{Good article}}
{{Pp-semi-indef}}
{{Pp-move}}
<!--Basic introduction; name, dates, why he was notable-->
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = <!--Do not put Generalissimo here, it is not an honorific but a rank-->
| name = Joseph Stalin
| image = Joseph Stalin in 1932 (4) (cropped)(2).jpg<!--Do not change without discussion on talk-->
| caption = Formal portrait, 1932
| office = [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary of the<br />Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
| term_start = 3 April 1922
| term_end = 16 October 1952{{Efn|The office of General Secretary was abolished in 1952, but Stalin continued to exercise its powers as the highest-ranking member of the party [[Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Secretariat]].}}
| predecessor = [[Vyacheslav Molotov]] {{Avoid wrap|(as Responsible Secretary)}}
| successor = [[Nikita Khrushchev]] {{Avoid wrap|(as First Secretary)}}
| office1 = [[Premier of the Soviet Union]]
| president1 = [[Mikhail Kalinin]]<br/>[[Nikolai Shvernik]]
| 1blankname1 = [[First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union|First Deputies]]
| 1namedata1 = {{ubl|[[Nikolai Voznesensky]]|Vyacheslav Molotov|[[Nikolai Bulganin]]}}
| term_start1 = 6 May 1941
| term_end1 = 5 March 1953
| predecessor1 = Vyacheslav Molotov
| successor1 = [[Georgy Malenkov]]
| office2 = [[Minister of Defence (Soviet Union)|Minister of the Armed Forces<br />of the Soviet Union]]{{Efn|Before 1946, the title of the office was People's Commissar for Defence, and briefly People's Commissar for the Armed Forces.}}
| premier2 = ''Himself''
| term_start2 = 19 July 1941
| term_end2 = 3 March 1947
| predecessor2 = [[Semyon Timoshenko]]
| successor2 = Nikolai Bulganin
| office3 = [[People's Commissariat for Nationalities|People's Commissar for Nationalities<br />of the Russian&nbsp;SFSR]]
| 1blankname3 = Premier
| 1namedata3 = [[Vladimir Lenin]]
| term_start3 = 8 November 1917
| term_end3 = 7 July 1923
| predecessor3 = ''Office established''
| successor3 = ''Office abolished''
| birth_name = Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili
| birth_date = {{OldStyleDate|18 December|1878|6 December}}
| birth_place = [[Gori, Georgia|Gori]], Russian Empire
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1953|3|5|1878|12|18|df=y}}
| death_place = Moscow, Soviet Union
| resting_place = {{Plainlist|
* [[Lenin's Mausoleum]] (1953–1961)
* [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]] (since 1961)
}}
| party = {{Plainlist|
[[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU]]{{Refn|group=lower-alpha|Founded as the RSDLP(b) in 1912; renamed the RCP(b) in 1918, AUCP(b) in 1925, and CPSU in 1952.}} (from 1912)
}}
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
* {{Marriage|[[Kato Svanidze|Ekaterine Svanidze]]|1906|1907|end=died}}
* {{Marriage|[[Nadezhda Alliluyeva]]|1919|1932|end=died}}
}}
| children = {{Plainlist|
* [[Yakov Dzhugashvili]]
* [[Vasily Stalin]]
* [[Artyom Sergeyev]] (adopted)
* [[Svetlana Alliluyeva]]
}}
| parents = {{Plainlist|
* [[Besarion Jughashvili]]
* [[Keke Geladze|Ekaterine Geladze]]
}}
| cabinet = [[Stalin's first government|Stalin I]]–[[Stalin's second government|II]]–[[Stalin's third government|III]]
| awards = [[List of awards and honours bestowed upon Joseph Stalin|Full list]]
| signature = Stalin Signature.svg
| nickname = Koba
| allegiance = {{Plainlist|
* [[Russian SFSR]]
* Soviet Union
}}
| branch_label = Branch
| branch = [[Red Army]]
| serviceyears = 1918–1920
| rank = [[Generalissimo of the Soviet Union|Generalissimo]] (from 1945)
| commands = [[Soviet Armed Forces]] (from 1941)
| battles = {{Plainlist|
* [[Russian Civil War]]
* [[Polish–Soviet War]]
* [[World War II]]}}
| module2 = {{Collapsible list
  | title = Central institution membership
  | titlestyle = background: lavender
  | bullets = on
  | 1917–1953: Full member, [[Inner-composition of the 6th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks)|6th]]–[[Politburo of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|18th]] Politburo and [[19th Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|19th]] Presidium of CPSU
  | 1922–1953: Full member, [[Secretariat of the 11th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|11th]]–[[Secretariat of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|19th]] Secretariat of CPSU
  | 1920–1952: Full member, [[Politburo, Secretariat and Orgburo of the 9th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|9th]]–[[Orgburo of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|18th]] Orgburo of CPSU
  | 1912–1953: Full member, [[Central Committee of the 5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party|5th]]–[[Central Committee of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|19th]] Central Committee of CPSU
  | 1918–1919: Full member, 2nd Central Committee of [[CP(b)U]]
  }}
----
{{Collapsible list
  | title = Other offices held
  | titlestyle = background: lavender
  | bullets = on
  | 1941–1945: Chairman, [[State Defence Committee]] of the Soviet&nbsp;Union
  | 1920–1922: [[Rabkrin|People's Commissar for Workers' and Peasants' Inspection]] of the Russian&nbsp;SFSR
  | 1919–1920: People's Commissar for State Control of the Russian&nbsp;SFSR
  | 1917–1918: Member of the [[Russian Constituent Assembly]] for [[Petrograd Metropolis electoral district (Russian Constituent Assembly election, 1917)|Petrograd Metropolis]]
  }}
| module3 = '''[[Leader of the Soviet Union]]'''
{{Flatlist|
* {{Big|←}} [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]]
* [[Georgy Malenkov|Malenkov]]{{Efn|While forced to give up control of the Secretariat almost immediately after succeeding Stalin as the body's de facto head, Malenkov was still recognised as "[[first among equals]]" within the regime for over a year. As late as March 1954, he remained listed as first in the Soviet leadership and continued to chair meetings of the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]].}}{{Big|→}}
}}
| occupation = <!-- Politician -->
| module4 = {{Listen voice |filename=Stalin announcing German surrender.ogg |name=Stalin |description=Stalin addresses the [[German Instrument of Surrender]].|recorded=9 May 1945}}
}}

'''Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin'''{{Family name footnote|Vissarionovich|Stalin|lang=Eastern Slavic}}{{Efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|t|ɑː|l|ɪ|n}};<ref>{{Cite Collins Dictionary|Stalin}}</ref> {{langx|ru|Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин|Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin|italic=no}} {{IPA|rus|ɪˈosʲɪf vʲɪssərʲɪˈonəvʲɪtɕ ˈstalʲɪn|label=|audio=Ru-Stalin.ogg}}; {{lang-ka|იოსებ ბესარიონის ძე სტალინი|tr}}}} ({{né|'''Dzhugashvili'''}};{{Efn|name="birth_name"|Stalin's birth name was '''Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili''' ({{lang|ka|იოსებ ბესარიონის ძე ჯუღაშვილი}}), represented in Russian as '''Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili''' ({{lang|ru|Иосиф Виссарионович Джугашвили}}; [[Reforms of Russian orthography#Post-revolution reform|pre-1918]]: {{lang|ru|Іосифъ Виссаріоновичъ Джугашвили}}). He adopted the alias "Stalin" during his revolutionary career, and made it his legal name after the [[October Revolution]].}} {{OldStyleDate|18 December|1878|6 December}}{{snd}}5 March 1953) was a Soviet<!--Do NOT change nationality without new consensus on the talk page.--> revolutionary and politician who led the [[Soviet Union]] from 1924 until [[Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin|his death]] in 1953. He held office as [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|general secretary of the Communist Party]] from 1922 to 1952 and as [[Premier of the Soviet Union|premier]] from 1941 until his death. Despite initially governing the country as part of a [[Collective leadership in the Soviet Union|collective leadership]], he eventually [[Joseph Stalin's rise to power|consolidated power]] to become a [[dictator]] by the 1930s. Stalin codified the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party's]] official interpretation of [[Marxism]] as [[Marxism–Leninism]], and his version of it is referred to as [[Stalinism]].

<!--Early life, revolutionary activity and rise to power-->
Born into a poor [[Georgians|Georgian]] family in [[Gori, Georgia|Gori]], Russian Empire, Stalin attended the [[Tiflis Theological Seminary]] before joining the Marxist [[Russian Social Democratic Labour Party]]. He raised funds for [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s [[Bolshevik]] faction through bank robberies and other crimes, and edited the party's newspaper, ''[[Pravda]]''. He was repeatedly arrested and underwent several exiles to [[Siberia]]. After the Bolsheviks seized power in the [[October Revolution]] of 1917, Stalin served as a member of the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]], and from 1922 used his position as General Secretary to gain control over the [[Soviet bureaucracy|party bureaucracy]]. After [[Death and state funeral of Vladimir Lenin|Lenin's death in 1924]], Stalin won the leadership struggle over rivals including [[Leon Trotsky]]. Stalin's doctrine of [[socialism in one country]] became central to the [[Ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|party's ideology]], and his [[Five-year plans of the Soviet Union|five-year plans]] starting in 1928 led to forced [[Collectivisation in the Soviet Union|agricultural collectivisation]], [[Industrialisation in the Soviet Union|rapid industrialisation]], and a centralised [[Planned economy|command economy]]. His policies contributed to [[Soviet famine of 1932–1933|a famine in 1932–1933]] which killed millions, including in the [[Holodomor]] in Ukraine. Between 1936 and 1938, Stalin executed hundreds of thousands of his real and perceived political opponents in the [[Great Purge]]. Under his regime, an estimated 18 million people passed through the [[Gulag]] system of [[forced labour camps]], and more than six million people, including [[Dekulakization|kulaks]] and entire ethnic groups, were [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|deported to remote areas of the country]].

<!--Governance in the latter part of the 1930s and [[World War II]]-->
Stalin promoted Marxism–Leninism abroad through the [[Communist International]] and supported European [[anti-fascist]] movements. In 1939, his government signed the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] with [[Nazi Germany|Germany]], enabling the [[Soviet invasion of Poland]] at the start of [[World War II]]. Germany broke the pact by [[Operation Barbarossa|invading the Soviet Union]] in 1941, leading Stalin to join the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. The [[Red Army]], with Stalin as its commander-in-chief, repelled the German invasion and [[Battle of Berlin|captured Berlin]] in 1945, ending [[World War II in Europe|the war in Europe]]. The Soviet Union established [[Eastern Bloc|Soviet-aligned states]] in Eastern Europe, and with the United States emerged as a [[superpower]], with the two countries entering a period of rivalry known as the [[Cold War]]. Stalin presided over post-war reconstruction and the [[Soviet atomic bomb project|first Soviet atomic bomb test]] in 1949. During these years, the country experienced [[Soviet famine of 1946–1947|another famine]] and a state-sponsored [[Antisemitism in the Soviet Union|antisemitic]] campaign culminating in the "[[doctors' plot]]". In 1953, Stalin died after a [[stroke]]. He was succeeded as leader by [[Georgy Malenkov]] and eventually [[Nikita Khrushchev]], who in 1956 [[On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences|denounced Stalin's rule]] and began a campaign of "[[de-Stalinisation]]".

<!--Recognition and legacy-->
One of the 20th century's most significant figures, Stalin has a deeply contested legacy. During his rule, he was the subject of a pervasive [[Stalin's cult of personality|personality cult]] within the international Marxist–Leninist movement, which revered him as a champion of [[Socialist mode of production|socialism]] and the [[working class]]. Since the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, Stalin has retained a degree of popularity in some of the [[post-Soviet states]] (particularly Russia and Georgia) as an economic moderniser and victorious wartime leader who transformed the Soviet Union into an industrialised superpower. Conversely, his regime has been widely condemned for overseeing mass repression and man-made famine which resulted in the suffering and [[Excess mortality in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin|deaths of millions of Soviet citizens]].

<!--please do not remove, for ToC spacing-->
{{TOC limit|limit=3}}

==Early life==
{{Main|Early life of Joseph Stalin}}
{{Joseph Stalin series}}

Stalin was born on {{OldStyleDate|18 December|1878|6 December}}{{efn|According to church records, Stalin was born on {{OldStyleDate|18 December|1878|6 December}}. This birth date is maintained in all surviving pre-Revolution documents, and as late as 1921, Stalin himself listed his birthday as 18 December 1878. After coming to power, Stalin gave his birth date as {{OldStyleDate|21 December|1879|9 December}}. This became the day his birthday was celebrated in the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=23}}}} in Gori, [[Georgia within the Russian Empire|Georgia]],{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=2|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=11}} then part of the [[Tiflis Governorate]] of the [[Russian Empire]].{{sfn|Service|2004|p=15}}{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=14|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=23}} An ethnic [[Georgians|Georgian]], his birth name was Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili ([[Russified]] as Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili).{{efn|name="birth_name"}} His parents were [[Besarion Jughashvili]] and [[Keke Geladze|Ekaterine Geladze]];{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=1–2|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=5|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=14|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=19|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=11|6a1=Deutscher|6y=1966|6p=26}} Stalin was their third child and the only one to survive past infancy.{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=5|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=16|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=22|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=17|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=11}} After Besarion's shoemaking workshop went into decline, the family fell into poverty, and he became an alcoholic who beat his wife and son.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=17|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=25|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=20|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=12}}{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=10|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=5|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=17|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=29|5a1=Kotkin|5y=2014|5p=24|6a1=Khlevniuk|6y=2015|6p=12}} Ekaterine and her son left the home by 1883, moving through nine different rented rooms.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1pp=30–31|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=20}} In 1888, Stalin enrolled at the Gori Church School,{{sfn|Dović|Helgason|2019|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nimVDwAAQBAJ&dq=gori+church+school+orthodox&pg=RA1-PA56 256]}}{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=11|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=20|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=32–34|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=21}} where he excelled.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=12|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=30|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=44|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=26}} He faced health problems: an 1884 [[smallpox]] infection left him with facial scars,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=12|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=5|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=19|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=31|5a1=Kotkin|5y=2014|5p=20}} and at age 12 he was seriously injured when he was struck by a [[Phaeton (carriage)|phaeton]], causing a lifelong disability in his left arm.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=12|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=25|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=35, 46|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4pp=20–21}}

In 1894, Stalin enrolled as a trainee [[Russian Orthodox]] priest at the [[Tbilisi Theological Seminary|Tiflis Theological Seminary]], enabled by a scholarship.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=28|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=51–53|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=15}} He initially achieved high grades,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=19|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=36|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=56|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=32|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=16}} but lost interest in his studies.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=69|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=32|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=18}}{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=19|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=69|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=36–37|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=19}} Stalin became influenced by [[Nikolay Chernyshevsky]]'s pro-revolutionary novel ''[[What Is to Be Done? (novel)|What Is to Be Done?]]'',{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=63}} and [[Alexander Kazbegi]]'s ''[[The Patricide]]'', with Stalin adopting the nickname "Koba" from its bandit protagonist.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=14|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=5|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=27–28|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=63|5a1=Kotkin|5y=2014|5pp=23–24|6a1=Khlevniuk|6y=2015|6p=17}} After reading ''[[Das Kapital]]'', Stalin focused on [[Karl Marx]]'s philosophy of [[Marxism]],{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=69}} which was on the rise as a variety of [[socialism]] opposed to the [[Tsarist autocracy|Tsarist authorities]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=40|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=43}} He began attending secret workers' meetings,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=66}} and left the seminary in April 1899.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=41|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=71}}

===1899–1905: Russian Social Democratic Labour Party===
[[File:Stalin 1902.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.8|Police photo of Stalin, 1902]]

During October 1899, he worked as a meteorologist at the Tiflis observatory.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=54|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=27|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=43–44|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=76|5a1=Kotkin|5y=2014|5pp=47–48}} He attracted a group of socialist supporters,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=79}} and co-organised a secret workers' meeting{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=54|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=27|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=78}} where he convinced many to strike on [[May Day]] 1900.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=78}} The empire's secret police, the [[Okhrana]], became aware of Stalin's activities and attempted to arrest him in March 1901, but he went into hiding{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=27|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=45|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=81–82|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=49}} during which he lived off donations from friends.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=82}} He helped plan a demonstration in [[Tiflis]] on May Day 1901, at which 3,000 marchers clashed with the authorities.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=28|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=82|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=50}} Stalin was elected to the Tiflis Committee of the [[Russian Social Democratic Labour Party]] (RSDLP), a Marxist party founded in 1898, in November 1901.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=63|2a1=Rieber|2y=2005|2pp=37–38|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=87–88}}

That month, he travelled to [[Batumi]].{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=29|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=52|3a1=Rieber|3y=2005|3p=39|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=101|5a1=Kotkin|5y=2014|5p=51}} His militant rhetoric proved divisive among the city's Marxists, some of whom suspected that he was an ''[[agent provocateur]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1pp=91, 95|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=53}} Stalin began working at the [[Rothschild family|Rothschild]] refinery storehouse, where he co-organised two workers' strikes.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1pp=90–93|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=51|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=22–23}} After the strike leaders were arrested, he co-organised a mass demonstration which led to the storming of the prison.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=29|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=49|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=94–95|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=52|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=23}} Stalin was arrested in April 1902{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=29|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=49|3a1=Rieber|3y=2005|3p=42|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=98|5a1=Kotkin|5y=2014|5p=52}} and sentenced to three years exile in [[Siberia]], arriving in [[Novaya Uda, Irkutsk Oblast|Novaya Uda]] in November 1903.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=68|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=29|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=107|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=53|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=23}} After one failed attempt, Stalin escaped from his exile in January 1904 and travelled to Tiflis,{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=52|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=115–116|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=53}} where he co-edited the Marxist newspaper ''[[Proletariatis Brdzola]]'' ("Proletarian Struggle") with [[Filipp Makharadze]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=57|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=123}} During his exile, the RSDLP had become divided between [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s "[[Bolsheviks|Bolshevik]]" faction and [[Julius Martov]]'s "[[Mensheviks]]".{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=33–34|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=53|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=113|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4pp=78–79|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=24}} Stalin, who detested many Mensheviks in Georgia, aligned himself with the Bolsheviks.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=76|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=59|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=80|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=24}}

===1905–1912: Revolution of 1905 and aftermath===
In January 1905, government troops [[Bloody Sunday (1905)|massacred protesters]] in Saint Petersburg and unrest spread across the Empire in the [[Revolution of 1905]].{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=80|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=56|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=126}} Stalin was in [[Baku]] in February when [[Armenian–Tatar massacres of 1905–1906|ethnic violence]] broke out between Armenians and Azeris,{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=58|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=128–129}} and he formed Bolshevik "battle squads" which he used to keep the city's warring ethnic factions apart.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=129}} His armed squads attacked local police and troops,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=132}} raided arsenals,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=143}} and raised funds via [[protection racket]]s.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=132–133}}{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=87|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=135, 144}} In November 1905, the Georgian Bolsheviks elected Stalin as one of their delegates to a [[Tampere conference of 1905|Bolshevik conference in Tampere, Finland]],{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1pp=89–90|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=60|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=145}} where he met Lenin.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=90|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=37|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=60|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=81}} Although Stalin held Lenin in deep respect, he vocally disagreed with his view that the Bolsheviks should field candidates for the [[1906 Russian legislative election|1906 election]] to the [[State Duma (Russian Empire)|State Duma]]; Stalin viewed parliamentary process as a waste of time.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=92|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=147|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=105}} In April 1906, he attended the [[4th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party|RSDLP's Fourth Congress]] in [[Stockholm]], where the party—then led by a Menshevik majority—agreed that it would not raise funds using armed robbery.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=96|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=40|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=62|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=26}} Lenin and Stalin disagreed with this,{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=96|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=62|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=113}} and privately discussed continuing the robberies for the Bolshevik cause.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=168|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=113}}

Stalin married [[Kato Svanidze]] in July 1906,{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=64|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=159|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=105|4a1=Semeraro|4y=2017|4p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bAXMDwAAQBAJ&dq=Kato+Svanidze+stalin+orthodox+church+1906&pg=PT87 ??]}} and in March 1907 she gave birth to their son [[Yakov Dzhugashvili|Yakov]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=64|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=167|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=106|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=25}} Stalin, who by now had established himself as "Georgia's leading Bolshevik",{{sfn|Service|2004|p=65}} organised the June 1907 [[1907 Tiflis bank robbery|robbery of a bank stagecoach in Tiflis]] to fund the Bolsheviks. His operatives ambushed the convoy in [[Freedom Square, Tbilisi|Erivansky Square]] with guns and homemade bombs; around 40 people were killed.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=41–42|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=75|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=113}} Stalin settled in Baku with his wife and son,{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=100|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=180|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=114}} where Mensheviks confronted him about the robbery and voted to expel him from the RSDLP, but he ignored them.{{sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=100|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2pp=43–44|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=76|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=184}} Stalin secured Bolshevik domination of RSDLP branch{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=190}} and edited two Bolshevik newspapers.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=186}} In November 1907, his wife died of [[typhus]],{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=191|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=115}} and he left his son with her family in Tiflis.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=44|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=71|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=193|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=116}} He then reassembled his gang,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=194}} which attacked [[Black Hundreds]] and raised money through racketeering, counterfeiting, robberies{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=74|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=196|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=115}} and kidnapping the children of wealthy figures for ransom.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1pp=197–198|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=115}}

In March 1908, Stalin was arrested and imprisoned.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=44|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=68|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=203|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=116}} He led the imprisoned Bolsheviks, organised discussion groups, and ordered the killing of suspected informants.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=45|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=203–204}} He was sentenced to two years of exile in [[Solvychegodsk]] in northern Russia, arriving there in February 1909.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=45|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=68|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=206, 208|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=116}} In June, Stalin escaped to Saint Petersburg,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=46|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=212|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=117}} but was arrested again in March 1910 and sent back to Solvychegodsk.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=46|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=222, 226|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=121}} In June 1911, Stalin was given permission to move to [[Vologda]], where he stayed for two months.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=47|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=80|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=231, 234|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=121}} He then escaped to Saint Petersburg,{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=236|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=121}} where he was arrested again in September 1911 and sentenced to a further three years of exile in Vologda.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=237|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=121–22}}

===1912–1917: Rise to the Central Committee and ''Pravda''===
[[File:First Issue of PRAVDA.jpg|thumb|right|First issue of ''[[Pravda]]'', of which Stalin served as an early editor]]

In January 1912, the first [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolshevik Central Committee]] was elected at the [[Prague Conference]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=83|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=122–123}} Lenin and [[Grigory Zinoviev]] decided to co-opt Stalin to the committee, which Stalin (while still in exile in Vologda) agreed to.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=83|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=122–123}}{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=48|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=83|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=240|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4pp=122–123}} Lenin believed that Stalin, as a Georgian, would help secure support from the empire's minority ethnicities.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=240}}

In February 1912, Stalin again escaped to Saint Petersburg,{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=241}} where he was tasked with converting the Bolshevik weekly newspaper, ''Zvezda'' ("Star") into a daily, ''[[Pravda]]'' ("Truth").{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=84|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=243}} The new newspaper was launched in April 1912 and Stalin's role as editor was kept secret.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=84|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=247}} In May 1912, he was again arrested and sentenced to three years of exile in Siberia.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=51|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=248}} In July, he arrived in [[Narym]],{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=249|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=133}} where he shared a room with fellow Bolshevik [[Yakov Sverdlov]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=86|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=250|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=154}} After two months, they escaped to Saint Petersburg,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=51|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=86–87|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=250–251}} where Stalin continued work on ''Pravda''.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=255}}

After the [[1912 Russian legislative election|October 1912 Duma elections]], Stalin wrote articles calling for reconciliation between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks; Lenin criticised him{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=256}} and he relented.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=263}} In January 1913, Stalin travelled incognito (using a false passport bearing the name "Stavros Papadopoulos") to Vienna,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=54|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=89|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=263}} where he researched the "national question" of how the Bolsheviks should deal with the Empire's national and ethnic minorities.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=89|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=264–265}} His article "[[Marxism and the National Question]]"{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=53|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=85|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=266|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=133}} was first published in the March, April, and May 1913 issues of the Bolshevik journal ''[[Prosveshcheniye]]''{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=133}} under the pseudonym "K. Stalin". The alias, which he had used since 1912, is derived from the Russian for steel (''stal''), and has been translated as "Man of Steel".{{sfnm|1a1=Himmer|1y=1986|1p=269|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=85}} In February 1913, Stalin was again arrested in Saint Petersburg{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1pp=268–270|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=28}} and sentenced to four years of exile in [[Turukhansk]] in Siberia, where he arrived in August.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=54|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=102–103|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=270, 273|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=29}} Still concerned over a potential escape, the authorities moved him to [[Kureika (village)|Kureika]] in March 1914.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=55|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=105–106|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=277–278|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=29}}

===1917: Russian Revolution===
While Stalin was in exile, Russia entered the [[First World War]], and in October 1916 he and other exiled Bolsheviks were [[Conscription in the Russian Empire|conscripted into the Russian Army]].{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=57|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=113–114|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=300|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=155}} They arrived in [[Krasnoyarsk]] in February 1917,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=57|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=301–302|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=155}} where a medical examiner ruled Stalin unfit for service due to his crippled arm.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=114|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=302|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=155}} Stalin was required to serve four more months of his exile and successfully requested to serve it in [[Achinsk]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=114|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=302}} Stalin was in the city when the [[February Revolution]] took place; the Tsar abdicated and the Empire became a ''de facto'' republic.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=57–58|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=116–117|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3pp=302–303|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=178|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=42}} In a celebratory mood, Stalin travelled by train to Petrograd (as Saint Petersburg had been renamed) in March.{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1pp=15, 19|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=117|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=304|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=173}} He assumed control of ''Pravda'' alongside [[Lev Kamenev]],{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=19|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=120|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=310}} and was appointed as a Bolshevik delegate to the executive committee of the [[Petrograd Soviet]], an influential workers' council.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=59–60|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=310}}

{{Quote box
| quote = The existing government of landlords and capitalists must be replaced by a new government, a government of workers and peasants.<br />The existing pseudo-government which was not elected by the people and which is not accountable to the people must be replaced by a government recognised by the people, elected by representatives of the workers, soldiers and peasants and held accountable to their representatives.
| source = Stalin's editorial in ''Pravda'', October 1917{{sfn|Service|2004|p=144}}
| width = 25em
}}

Stalin helped organise the [[July Days]] uprising, an armed display of strength by supporters of the Bolsheviks.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=65|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=319–320}} After the demonstration was suppressed, the Provisional Government initiated a crackdown on the party, raiding ''Pravda''.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=32}} Stalin smuggled Lenin out of the paper's office and took charge of his safety, moving him between Petrograd safe houses before smuggling him to nearby [[Razliv]].{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1pp=322–324|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=203|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=48–49}} In Lenin's absence, Stalin continued editing ''Pravda'' and served as acting leader of the Bolsheviks, overseeing the party's [[6th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks)|Sixth Congress]].{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2007|1p=326|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=204}} Lenin began calling for the Bolsheviks to seize power by toppling the Provisional Government, a plan which was supported by Stalin and fellow senior Bolshevik [[Leon Trotsky]], but opposed by Kamenev, Zinoviev, and other members.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=68|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=138|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4pp=331–332|5a1=Kotkin|5y=2014|5p=214|6a1=Khlevniuk|6y=2015|6p=50}}

On 24 October, police raided the Bolshevik newspaper offices, smashing machinery and presses; Stalin salvaged some of the equipment.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=144|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=337–338}} In the early hours of 25 October, Stalin joined Lenin in a Central Committee meeting in Petrograd's [[Smolny Institute]], from where the Bolshevik coup—the [[October Revolution]]—was directed.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=145|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=341}} Bolshevik militia seized Petrograd's power station, main post office, state bank, telephone exchange, and several bridges.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=341–342}} A Bolshevik-controlled ship, the ''[[Russian cruiser Aurora|Aurora]]'', opened fire on the [[Winter Palace]]; the Provisional Government's assembled delegates surrendered and were arrested.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=344–346}} Stalin, who had been tasked with briefing the Bolshevik delegates of the [[All-Russian Congress of Soviets#Second Congress|Second Congress of Soviets]] about the situation, had not played a publicly visible role.{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=145, 147}} Trotsky and other later opponents used this as evidence his role had been insignificant, although various historians reject this,{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=144–146|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=224|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=52}} placing great significance in his role as a member of the Central Committee and as an editor of ''Pravda''.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=53}} However, according to Russian historian Oleg Khlevni͡uk, 2015, "Russia was not allowed  to follow the course of reform long enough to yield [significant] results", citing Stalin's frequent abuse of power and mis-directing the course of the Revolution.<ref>{{cite book |last=Khlevni͡uk, O. V. |first=Olreg |title=Stalin : new biography of a dictator |year=2015 |publisher=New Haven : Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-21978-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/stalinnewbiograp0000khle/mode/2up |ref=Khlevni͡uk2015}}</ref>

==In Lenin's government==
{{Main|Stalin during the Russian Revolution, Civil War and Polish–Soviet War}}

===1917–1918: People's Commissar for Nationalities===
[[File:Stalin 1917-1.1.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.8|Stalin in 1917 as a young [[People's Commissariat|People's Commissar]]]]

On 26 October 1917, Lenin declared himself chairman of the new government, the [[Council of People's Commissars]] (Sovnarkom).{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=147–148|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=227–228, 229|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=52}} Stalin supported Lenin's decision not to form a coalition with the [[Socialist Revolutionary Party]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1pp=28–29|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=148}} He became part of an informal leadership group alongside Lenin, Trotsky, and Sverdlov, and his importance within the Bolshevik ranks grew.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=157}} Stalin's office was near Lenin's in the Smolny Institute,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=71|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=229}} and he and Trotsky had direct access to Lenin without an appointment.{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=27|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=226}} Stalin co-signed Lenin's decrees shutting down hostile newspapers,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=149}} and co-chaired the committee drafting [[Soviet Russia Constitution of 1918|a constitution]] for the newly-formed [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=155}} He supported Lenin's formation of the [[Cheka]] security service and the [[Red Terror]], arguing that state violence was an effective tool for capitalist powers.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=158}} Unlike some Bolsheviks, Stalin never expressed concern about the Cheka's rapid expansion and the Red Terror.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=158}}

Having left his role as ''Pravda'' editor,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=148}} Stalin was appointed the [[People's Commissariat|People's Commissar]] for Nationalities.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=70|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=30|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=148|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=228|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=52}} He appointed [[Nadezhda Alliluyeva]] as his secretary,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=72|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=151}} and married her in early 1919.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=72|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=167|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=264|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=49}} In November 1917, he signed the [[Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia|Decree on Nationality]], granting ethnic minorities the right to secession and self-determination.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=71}} He travelled to [[Helsinki]] to meet with the [[Social Democratic Party of Finland|Finnish Social Democrats]], and granted Finland's request for independence from Russia in December.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=71|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=152}} Due to the threats posed by the [[Russia in World War I|First World War]], in March 1918 the government relocated from Petrograd to the [[Kremlin|Moscow Kremlin]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=72|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=150–151|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=259–264}} Stalin supported Lenin's desire to sign an armistice with the Central Powers;{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=75|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=158–161|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=250}} Stalin thought this necessary because he—unlike Lenin—was unconvinced that Europe was on the verge of [[proletarian revolution]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=159–160|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=250}} The [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)|Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] was signed in March 1918,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=75|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=161|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=257–258}} ceding vast territories and angering many; the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries withdrew from the coalition government.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=161|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=258–259, 265}} The Bolsheviks were renamed the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Russian Communist Party]].{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=259}}

===1918–1921: Military command===
{{Further|Stalin during the Russian Revolution, Civil War and Polish–Soviet War}}
[[File:Stalin 1920-1.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Stalin in 1920]]

In May 1918, during the intensifying [[Russian Civil War]], Sovnarkom sent Stalin to [[Tsaritsyn]] to take charge of food procurement in Southern Russia.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=77|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=39|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2003|3p=27|4a1=Service|4y=2004|4p=163|5a1=Kotkin|5y=2014|5pp=300–301|6a1=Khlevniuk|6y=2015|6p=54}} Eager to prove himself as a commander,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=173}} he took control of regional military operations and befriended [[Kliment Voroshilov]] and [[Semyon Budyonny]], who later formed the core of his military support base.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=164|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=302–303}} Stalin sent large numbers of [[Red Army]] troops to battle the region's [[White movement|White armies]], resulting in heavy losses and drawing Lenin's concern.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=81|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=170}} In Tsaritsyn, Stalin commanded the local Cheka branch to execute suspected counter-revolutionaries, often without trial,{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=46|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=27|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=305, 307|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=56–57}} and purged the military and food collection agencies of middle-class specialists, who were also executed.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=78–79|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=40|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=166|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=55}} His use of state violence was at a greater scale than most Bolshevik leaders approved of,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=171}} for instance, he ordered several villages torched to ensure compliance with his food procurement program.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=169}}

In December 1918, Stalin was sent to [[Perm, Russia|Perm]] to lead an inquiry into how [[Alexander Kolchak]]'s White forces had been able to decimate Red troops there.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=83–84|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=172|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=314}} He returned to Moscow in January 1919,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=172}} before being assigned to the Western Front at Petrograd.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=85|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=172}} When the Red Third Regiment defected, he ordered the public execution of captured defectors.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=172}} In September he returned to the Southern Front.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=172}} During the war, Stalin proved his worth to the Central Committee by displaying decisiveness and determination.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=173}} However, he also disregarded orders and repeatedly threatened to resign when affronted.{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=173, 174}} In November 1919, the government awarded him the [[Order of the Red Banner]] for his service.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=86|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=45|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=331}}

The Bolsheviks won the main phase of the civil war by the end of 1919.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=175}} By that time, Sovnarkom had turned its attention to spreading proletarian revolution abroad, forming the [[Communist International]] in March 1919; Stalin attended its inaugural ceremony.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=91|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=175}} Although Stalin did not share Lenin's belief that Europe's proletariat were on the verge of revolution, he acknowledged that Soviet Russia remained vulnerable.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=176}} In February 1920, he was appointed to head the [[Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate]] (Rabkrin);{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=174}} that same month he was also transferred to the Caucasian Front.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=178}}

The [[Polish–Soviet War]] broke out in early 1920, with the Poles invading Ukraine,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=176|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=352–354}} and in May, Stalin was moved to the Southwest Front.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=178|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=357|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=59}} Lenin believed that the Polish proletariat would rise up to support an invasion, but Stalin argued that [[Polish nationalism|nationalism]] would lead them to support their government's war effort.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=177}} Stalin lost the argument and accepted Lenin's decision.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=178}} On his front, Stalin became determined to conquer [[Lvov]]; in focusing on this goal, he disobeyed orders to transfer his troops to assist [[Mikhail Tukhachevsky]]'s forces at the [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Battle of Warsaw]] in early August, which ended in a major defeat for the Red Army.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=87|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=179|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=362|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=60}} Stalin then returned to Moscow,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=180, 182|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=364}} where Tukhachevsky blamed him for the loss.{{Sfn|Brackman|2004|p=135}} Humiliated, he demanded demission from the military, which was granted on 1 September.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=182|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=364–365}} At the [[9th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|9th Party Congress]] in late September, Trotsky accused Stalin of "strategic mistakes"{{Sfnm|1a1=Davies|1y=2003|1p=211|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=183–185|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=376–377}} and claimed that he had sabotaged the campaign; Lenin joined in the criticism.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=184–185|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=377}} Stalin felt disgraced and his antipathy toward Trotsky increased.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=185}}

===1921–1924: Lenin's final years===
[[File:Stalin and lenin 1922.jpg|thumb|Stalin visiting Lenin at the [[Gorki Leninskiye|Gorki dacha]], just outside Moscow, September 1922.]]

The Soviet government sought to bring neighbouring states under its domination; [[Georgian–Soviet War|in February 1921 it invaded]] the Menshevik-governed [[Democratic Republic of Georgia|Georgia]],{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|pp=396–397}} and in April 1921, Stalin ordered the Red Army into [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkestan]] to reassert Soviet control.{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=388}} As People's Commissar for Nationalities, Stalin believed that each ethnic group had the right to an "[[Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics|autonomous republic]]" within the Russian state in which it could oversee various regional affairs.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=199–200|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=371}} In taking this view, some Marxists accused him of bending too much to [[bourgeois nationalism]], while others accused him of remaining too Russo-centric.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=202}} In his diverse native Caucasus, however, Stalin opposed the idea of separate autonomous republics, arguing that these would oppress ethnic minorities within their territories; instead, he called for a [[Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=194–196|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=400}} The [[Communist Party of Georgia (Soviet Union)|Georgian Communist Party]] opposed the idea, resulting in the [[Georgian affair]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=194–195|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=479–481}} In mid-1921, Stalin returned to the [[South Caucasus]], calling on Georgian communists to reject the chauvinistic nationalism which he argued had marginalised the [[Abkhazians|Abkhazian]], [[Ossetians|Ossetian]], and [[Adjarian]] minorities.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=203–205|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=400}} In March 1921, Nadezhda gave birth to another of Stalin's sons, [[Vasily Stalin|Vasily]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=127|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=232}}

After the civil war, workers' strikes and peasant uprisings broke out across Russia in opposition to Sovnarkom's food requisitioning project; in response, Lenin introduced market-oriented reforms in the [[New Economic Policy]] (NEP).{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=89|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=187|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=344|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=64}} There was also turmoil within the Communist Party, as Trotsky led a faction calling for abolition of trade unions; Lenin opposed this, and Stalin helped rally opposition to Trotsky's position.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=186}} At the [[11th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|11th Party Congress]] in March and April 1922, Lenin nominated Stalin as the party's [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]], which was intended as a purely organisational role. Although concerns were expressed that adopting the new position would overstretch his workload and grant him too much power, Stalin was appointed to the post.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=96|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=78–70|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=189–190|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=411}}

{{Quote box
| width = 25em
| align = left
| quote = Stalin is too crude, and this defect which is entirely acceptable in our milieu and in relationships among us as communists, becomes unacceptable in the position of General Secretary. I therefore propose to comrades that they should devise a means of removing him from this job and should appoint to this job someone else who is distinguished from comrade Stalin in all other respects only by the single superior aspect that he should be more tolerant, more polite and more attentive towards comrades, less capricious, etc.
| source = — Lenin's Testament, 4 January 1923{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2000|1p=369|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=209|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=504}}
}}

In May 1922, a massive stroke left Lenin partially paralysed.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=97|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=53|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=191}} Residing at his [[Gorki Leninskiye|Gorki dacha]], his main connection to Sovnarkom was through Stalin.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=191–192|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=413}} Despite their comradeship, Lenin disliked what he referred to as Stalin's "Asiatic" manner and told his sister [[Maria Ilyinichna Ulyanova|Maria]] that Stalin was "not intelligent".{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=102|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=191–192|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=528}} The two men argued on the issue of foreign trade; Lenin believed that the Soviet state should have a monopoly on foreign trade, but Stalin supported [[Grigori Sokolnikov]]'s view that doing so was impractical.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=98|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=193|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=483|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=69–70}} Another disagreement came over the Georgian affair, with Lenin backing the Georgian Central Committee's desire for a Georgian Soviet Republic over Stalin's idea of a Transcaucasian one.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=95|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=195|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=71–72}} They also disagreed on the nature of the Soviet state; Lenin called for establishment of a new federation named the "Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia",{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=195}} while Stalin believed that this would encourage independence sentiment among non-Russians.{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=71|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=194|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=475–476|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=68–69}} Lenin accused Stalin of "[[Great Russian chauvinism]]", while Stalin accused Lenin of "national liberalism".{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=98–99|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=195|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=477, 478|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=69}} A compromise was reached in which the federation would be named the "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" (USSR), whose formation was ratified in December 1922.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=195}}

Their differences also became personal; Lenin was angered when Stalin was rude to his wife Krupskaya during a telephone conversation.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=99–100, 103|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=72–74|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=210–211|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=70–71}} In the final years of his life, Krupskaya provided leading figures with [[Lenin's Testament]], which criticised Stalin's rude manners and excessive power and suggested that he be removed as general secretary.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=100–101|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=53, 79–82|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=208–209|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=71}} Some historians have questioned whether Lenin wrote the document, suggesting that it was written by Krupskaya;{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=501}} Stalin never publicly voiced concerns about its authenticity.{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=528}} Most historians consider it an accurate reflection of Lenin's views.{{Sfn|Suny|2020b|p=59}}

==Consolidation of power==
{{Main|Joseph Stalin's rise to power}}

===1924–1928: Succeeding Lenin===
[[File:Stalin Rykov Kamenev Zinoviev 1925 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|From left to right: Stalin, [[Alexei Rykov]], [[Lev Kamenev]], and [[Grigory Zinoviev]] in 1925. All three later fell out with Stalin and were executed during the [[Great Purge]].]]

Upon Lenin's death in January 1924,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=104|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=30|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=219|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=534|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=79}} Stalin took charge of the funeral and was a pallbearer.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=110|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=30|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=219|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4pp=542–543}} To bolster his image as a devoted Leninist amid his growing [[personality cult]], Stalin gave nine lectures at [[Sverdlov University]] on the ''[[Foundations of Leninism]]'', later published in book form.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=111–112|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=117–118|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=221|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=544}} At the [[13th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|13th Party Congress]] in May 1924, Lenin's Testament was read only to the leaders of the provincial delegations.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=222–224|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=79}} Embarrassed by its contents, Stalin offered his resignation as General Secretary; this act of humility saved him, and he was retained in the post.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=111|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=93–94|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=222–224|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4pp=546–548|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=79}}

As General Secretary, Stalin had a free hand in making appointments to his own staff, and implanted loyalists throughout the party.{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=426}} Favouring new members from proletarian backgrounds to "[[Old Bolsheviks]]", who tended to be middle-class university graduates,{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=453}} he ensured that he had loyalists dispersed across the regions.{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=455}} Stalin had much contact with young party functionaries,{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=469}} and the desire for promotion led many to seek his favour.{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=432}} Stalin also developed close relations with key figures in the secret police: [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]], [[Genrikh Yagoda]], and [[Vyacheslav Menzhinsky]].{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|pp=495–496}} His wife gave birth to a daughter, [[Svetlana Alliluyeva|Svetlana]], in February 1926.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=127|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=238}}

In the wake of Lenin's death, a power struggle emerged to become his successor: alongside Stalin was Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, [[Nikolai Bukharin]], [[Alexei Rykov]], and [[Mikhail Tomsky]].{{Sfn|Fainsod|Hough|1979|p=111}} Stalin saw Trotsky—whom he personally despised{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=136}}—as the main obstacle to his dominance,{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=27}} and during Lenin's illness had formed an unofficial [[triumvirate]] (''[[List of leaders of the Soviet Union#List of troikas|troika]]'') alongside Kamenev and Zinoviev.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=98|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=474|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=52}} Although Zinoviev was concerned about Stalin's growing power, he rallied behind him at the 13th Congress as a counterweight to Trotsky, who now led a faction known as the [[Left Opposition]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=214–215, 217}} Trotsky's supporters believed that the NEP conceded too much to capitalism, and they called Stalin a "rightist" for his support of the policy.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=87}} Stalin built up a retinue of his supporters within the Central Committee{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=225}} as the Left Opposition were marginalised.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=227}}

[[File:Ordzhonikidze, Stalin and Mikoyan, 1925.jpg|thumb|left|Stalin and his close associates [[Anastas Mikoyan]] and [[Sergo Ordzhonikidze]] in [[Tbilisi]], 1925]]

In late 1924, Stalin moved against Kamenev and Zinoviev, removing their supporters from key positions.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=228|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=563}} In 1925, the two moved into open opposition to Stalin and Bukharin{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=240}} and launched an unsuccessful attack on their faction at the [[14th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|14th Party Congress]] in December.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=240–243|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=82–83}} Stalin accused Kamenev and Zinoviev of reintroducing factionalism, and thus instability.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=240–243|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=82–83}} In mid-1926, Kamenev and Zinoviev joined with Trotsky to form the [[United Opposition (Soviet Union)|United Opposition]] against Stalin;{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=126|2a1=Conquest|2y=2008|2p=11|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=614|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=83}} in October the two agreed to stop factional activity under threat of expulsion, and later publicly recanted their views.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=137, 138|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=614}} The factionalist arguments continued, with Stalin threatening to resign in October and December 1926, and again in December 1927.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=247|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=614, 618|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=91}} In October 1927, Trotsky was removed from the Central Committee;{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=85}} he was later exiled to Kazakhstan in 1928 and deported from the country in 1929.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=139, 151|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=282–283|3a1=Conquest|3y=2008|3pp=11–12|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4pp=676–677|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=85}}

Stalin was now the supreme leader of the party and state.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=276}} He entrusted the position of [[head of government]] to [[Vyacheslav Molotov]]; other important supporters on the Politburo were Voroshilov, [[Lazar Kaganovich]], and [[Sergo Ordzhonikidze]],{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=277, 280|2a1=Conquest|2y=2008|2pp=12–13}} with Stalin ensuring his allies ran state institutions.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=278}} His growing influence was reflected in naming of locations after him; in June 1924 the Ukrainian city of [[Yuzovka]] became Stalino,{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=130}} and in April 1925, Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=130|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=160|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=689}} In 1926, Stalin published ''On Questions of Leninism,''{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=244}} in which he argued for the concept of "[[socialism in one country]]", which was presented as an orthodox Leninist perspective despite clashing with established Bolshevik views that socialism could only be achieved globally through the process of [[world revolution]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=244}} In 1927, there was some argument in the party over Soviet policy regarding China. Stalin had called for the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP), led by [[Mao Zedong]], to ally itself with [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) nationalists, viewing a CCP-KMT alliance as the best bulwark against [[Japanese imperialism]]. Instead, the KMT [[Shanghai massacre|repressed]] the CCP and a [[Chinese civil war|civil war broke out]] between the two sides.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=392|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=626–631|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=89–90}}
{{Clear|left}}

===1928–1932: First five-year plan===
{{Main|First five-year plan (Soviet Union)}}

====Economic policy====
{{Quote box
| width = 25em
| align = right
| quote = We have fallen behind the advanced countries by fifty to a hundred years. We must close that gap in ten years. Either we do this or we'll be crushed.

This is what our obligations before the workers and peasants of the USSR dictate to us.
| source = — Stalin, February 1931{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=273}}
}}

The Soviet Union lagged far behind the industrial and agricultural development of the Western powers.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=256}} Stalin's government feared attack from capitalist countries,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=172–173|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=256|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=638–639}} and many communists, including in [[Komsomol]], [[OGPU]], and the Red Army, were eager to be rid of the NEP and its market-oriented approach.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=144, 146|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=258}} They had concerns about those who profited from the policy: affluent peasants known as "[[kulak]]s" and small business owners, or "[[NEPmen]]".{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=256|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=571}} At this point, Stalin [[Great Break (USSR)|turned against]] the NEP, which put him on a course to the "left" even of Trotsky or Zinoviev.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=253|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=101}}

In early 1928, Stalin travelled to [[Novosibirsk]], where he alleged that kulaks were hoarding grain and ordered them be arrested and their grain confiscated, with Stalin bringing much of the grain back to Moscow with him in February.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=147–148|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=257–258|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=661, 668–669, 679–684|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=102–103}} At his command, grain procurement squads surfaced across West Siberia and the Urals, with violence breaking out between the squads and the peasantry.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=258|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=103}} Stalin announced that kulaks and the "middle peasants" must be coerced into releasing their harvest.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=258}} Bukharin and other Central Committee members were angered that they had not been consulted about the measure.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=258|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=105}} In January 1930, the Politburo approved the "liquidation" of the kulak class, which was exiled to other parts of the country or concentration camps.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=267}}{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=160|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=166}} By July 1930, over 320,000 households had been affected.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=267}} According to [[Dmitri Volkogonov]], dekulakisation was "the first mass terror applied by Stalin in his own country."{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=167}}

[[File:Stakhanov.JPG|thumb|left|[[Alexei Stakhanov|Aleksei Stakhanov]] with a fellow miner. Stalin's government initiated the [[Stakhanovite movement]] in order to encourage hard work.{{Sfn|Sandle|1999|p=231}}]]

In 1929, the Politburo announced the [[Collectivization in the Soviet Union|mass collectivisation of agriculture]],{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=265–266|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=110–111}} establishing both ''[[kolkhoz]]'' collective farms and ''[[sovkhoz]]'' state farms.{{Sfn|Sandle|1999|p=234}} Although officially voluntary, many peasants joined the collectives out of fear they would face the fate of the kulaks.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=113}} By 1932, about 62% of households involved in agriculture were part of collectives, and by 1936 this had risen to 90%.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=271}} Many collectivised peasants resented the loss of their private farmland,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=270}} and productivity slumped.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=270|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=116}} Famine broke out in many areas,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=272|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=116}} with the Politburo frequently being forced to dispatch emergency food relief.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=272}} Armed peasant uprisings broke out in Ukraine, the [[North Caucasus]], Southern Russia, and Central Asia, reaching their apex in March 1930; these were suppressed by the army.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=270|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=113–114}} Stalin responded with [[Dizzy with Success|an article]] insisting that collectivisation was voluntary and blaming violence on local officials.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=160|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=114}} Although he and Stalin had been close for many years,{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=174}} Bukharin expressed concerns and regarded them as a return to Lenin's old "[[war communism]]" policy. By mid-1928, he was unable to rally sufficient support in the party to oppose the reforms;{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=172|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=260|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=708}} in November 1929, Stalin removed him from the Politburo.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=158|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=266|3a1=Conquest|3y=2008|3p=18}}

Officially, the Soviet Union had replaced the "irrationality" and "wastefulness" of a [[market economy]] with a [[planned economy]] organised along a long-term and scientific framework; in reality, Soviet economics were based on ''ad hoc'' commandments issued often to make short-term targets.{{Sfn|Sandle|1999|pp=227, 229}} In 1928, the [[First five-year plan (Soviet Union)|first five-year plan]] was launched by Stalin with a main focus on boosting Soviet heavy industry;{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=259}} it was finished a year ahead of schedule, in 1932.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=274}} The country underwent a massive economic transformation:{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=265}} new mines were opened, new cities like [[Magnitogorsk]] constructed, and work on the [[White Sea–Baltic Canal]] began.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=265}} Millions of peasants moved to the cities, and large debts were accrued purchasing foreign-made machinery.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=118}}

Many major construction projects, including the White Sea–Baltic Canal and the [[Moscow Metro]], were constructed largely through forced labour.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|pp=186, 190}} The last elements of workers' control over industry were removed, with factory managers receiving privileges;{{Sfn|Sandle|1999|pp=231–233}} Stalin defended wage disparity by pointing to Marx's argument that it was necessary during the lower stages of socialism.{{Sfn|Sandle|1999|pp=241–242}} To promote intensification of labour, medals and awards as well as the [[Stakhanovite movement]] were introduced.{{Sfn|Sandle|1999|p=231}} Stalin argued that socialism was being established in the USSR while capitalism was crumbling during the [[Great Depression]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=269}} His rhetoric reflected his [[utopian]] vision of the "[[new Soviet person]]" rising to unparallelled heights of human development.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=300}}
{{Clear|left}}

====Cultural and foreign policy====
In 1928, Stalin declared that class war between the proletariat and their enemies would intensify as socialism developed.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=152–153|2a1=Sandle|2y=1999|2p=214|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=107–108}} He warned of a "danger from the right", including from within the Communist Party.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=108}} The first major [[show trial]] in the USSR was the [[Shakhty Trial]] of 1928, in which middle-class "industrial specialists" were convicted of sabotage.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=152–155|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=259|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=687, 702–704, 709|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=107}} From 1929 to 1930, show trials were held to intimidate opposition;{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=268}} these included the [[Industrial Party Trial]], [[Menshevik Trial]], and [[Metro-Vickers Trial]].{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=155}} Aware that the ethnic Russian majority may have concerns about being ruled by a Georgian,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=324}} he promoted ethnic Russians throughout the state bureaucracy and made Russian compulsory in schools, albeit in tandem with local languages.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=326}} Nationalist sentiment was suppressed.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=301}} [[Social conservatism|Conservative social policies]] were promoted to boost population growth; this included a focus on strong family units, [[LGBT rights in the Soviet Union|re-criminalisation of homosexuality]], restrictions on abortion and divorce, and abolition of the ''[[Zhenotdel]]'' women's department.{{Sfn|Sandle|1999|pp=244, 246}}

[[File:Christ saviour explosion.jpg|thumb|1931 demolition of the [[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]] in Moscow in order to make way for the planned [[Palace of the Soviets]]]]

Stalin desired a "[[Cultural Revolution in the Soviet Union|cultural revolution]]",{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=299}} entailing both the creation of [[Culture of the Soviet Union|a culture]] for the "masses" and the wider dissemination of previously elite culture.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=304}} He oversaw a proliferation of schools, newspapers, and libraries, as well as advancement of literacy and [[numeracy]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1pp=111, 127|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=308}} [[Socialist realism]] was promoted throughout the arts,{{Sfnm|1a1=Sandle|1y=1999|1p=246|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=85}} while Stalin wooed prominent writers, namely [[Maxim Gorky]], [[Mikhail Sholokhov]], and [[Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=302–303}} He expressed patronage for scientists whose research fit within his preconceived interpretation of Marxism; for instance, he endorsed the research of agrobiologist [[Trofim Lysenko]] despite the fact that it was rejected by the majority of Lysenko's scientific peers as [[pseudo-scientific]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=211, 276–277|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=307}} The government's anti-religious campaign was re-intensified,{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=157}} with increased funding given to the [[League of Militant Atheists]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=301}} [[Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union|Priests]], [[Islam in the Soviet Union|imams]], and [[Buddhism in Russia|Buddhist]] monks faced persecution.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=268}} Religious buildings were demolished, most notably Moscow's [[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]], destroyed in 1931 to make way for the [[Palace of the Soviets]].{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=191}} Religion retained an influence over the population; in the [[Soviet Census (1937)|1937 census]], 57% of respondents were willing to admit to being religious.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=325}}

Throughout the 1920s, Stalin placed a priority on foreign policy.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=379}} He personally met with a range of Western visitors, including [[George Bernard Shaw]] and [[H. G. Wells]], both of whom were impressed with him.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|pp=183–184}} Through the Communist International, Stalin's government exerted a strong influence over Marxist parties elsewhere;{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=282}} he left the running of the organisation to Bukharin before his ousting.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=261}} At its 6th Congress in July 1928, Stalin informed delegates that the main threat to socialism came from non-Marxist socialists and [[social democrats]], whom he called "[[social fascists]]";{{Sfnm|1a1=McDermott|1y=1995|1pp=410–411|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=176|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=261, 383|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=720}} Stalin recognised that in many countries, these groups were Marxist–Leninists' main rivals for working-class support.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=173}} This focus on opposing rival leftists concerned Bukharin, who regarded the growth of [[fascism]] and the far right across Europe as a greater threat.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=261}}

In 1929, Stalin's son Yakov unsuccessfully attempted suicide, shooting himself in the chest and narrowly missing his heart; his failure earned the contempt of Stalin, who is reported to have brushed off the attempt by saying "He can't even shoot straight."<ref>{{harvnb|Allilueva|1967|p=111}}</ref>{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=289|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=595}} His relationship with Nadezhda was strained amid their arguments and her mental health problems.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=289}} In November 1932, after a group dinner in the Kremlin in which Stalin flirted with other women, Nadezhda shot herself in the heart.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=169|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=90|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=291–292}} Publicly, the cause of death was given as [[appendicitis]]; Stalin also concealed the real cause of death from his children.{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=94, 95|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=292, 294}} Stalin's friends noted that he underwent a significant change following her suicide, becoming emotionally harder.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=297}}
{{Clear|left}}

===1932–1939: Major crises===

====Famine of 1932–1933====
{{Main|Soviet famine of 1930–1933|Holodomor}}
[[File:Famine en URSS 1933.jpg|thumb|right|Map of areas affected by the [[Soviet famine of 1932–1933]]]]

Within the Soviet Union, civic disgruntlement against Stalin's government was widespread.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=316}} Social unrest in urban areas led Stalin to ease some economic policies in 1932.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=310}} In May 1932, he introduced ''kolkhoz'' markets where peasants could trade surplus produce.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=310|2a1=Davies|2a2=Wheatcroft|2y=2006|2p=627}} However, penal sanctions became harsher; a decree in August 1932 made the theft of a handful of grain a capital offence.{{Sfn|Davies|Wheatcroft|2006|p=628}} The second five-year plan reduced production quotas from the first, focusing more on improving living conditions{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=310}} through housing and consumer goods.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=310}} Emphasis on armament production increased after [[Adolf Hitler]] became [[German chancellor]] in 1933.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=318}}

The Soviet Union experienced a major famine which peaked in the winter of 1932–1933,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=312|2a1=Conquest|2y=2008|2pp=19–20|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=117}} with 5–7 million deaths.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=117}} The worst affected areas were [[Ukrainian SSR|Ukraine]] (where the famine was called the [[Holodomor]]), [[Southern Russia]], [[Kazakh SSR|Kazakhstan]] and the [[North Caucasus]].{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=119}} In the case of Ukraine, historians debate whether the famine was intentional, with the purpose of eliminating a potential independence movement;{{Sfn|Ellman|2005|p=823}} no documents show Stalin explicitly ordered starvation.{{Sfnm|1a1=Ellman|1y=2005|1p=824|2a1=Davies|2a2=Wheatcroft|2y=2006|2pp=628, 631}} Poor weather led to bad harvests in 1931 and 1932,{{Sfnm|1a1=Ellman|1y=2005|1pp=823–824|2a1=Davies|2a2=Wheatcroft|2y=2006|2p=626|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=117}} compounded by years of declining productivity.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=117}} Rapid industrialisation policies, neglect of [[crop rotation]], and failure to build reserve grain stocks exacerbated the crisis.{{Sfn|Ellman|2005|p=834}} Stalin blamed hostile elements and saboteurs among the peasants.{{Sfnm|1a1=Ellman|1y=2005|1p=824|2a1=Davies|2a2=Wheatcroft|2y=2006|2pp=627–628|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=120}} The government provided limited food aid to famine-stricken areas, prioritising urban workers;{{Sfnm|1a1=Ellman|1y=2005|1p=833|2a1=Kuromiya|2y=2008|2p=665}} for Stalin, Soviet industrialisation was more valuable than peasant lives.{{Sfnm|1a1=Davies|1a2=Wheatcroft|1y=2006|1p=628|2a1=Ellman|2y=2007|2p=664}} Grain exports declined heavily.{{Sfn|Davies|Wheatcroft|2006|p=627}} Stalin did not acknowledge his policies' role in the famine,{{Sfn|Davies|Wheatcroft|2006|p=628}} which was concealed from foreign observers.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=164|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=724}}

====Ideological and foreign affairs====
{{Further|Joseph Stalin's cult of personality}}

In 1936, Stalin oversaw the adoption of [[1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union|a new constitution]] with expansive democratic features; it was designed as propaganda, as all power rested in his hands.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=319}} He declared that "socialism, the first phase of communism, has been achieved".{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=319}} In 1938, the ''[[History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)]]'' was released;{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=212|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=552–443|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=361}} commonly known as the "Short Course", it became the central text of Stalinism.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=212}} Authorised Stalin biographies were also published,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=361}} though Stalin preferred to be viewed as the embodiment of the Communist Party, rather than have his life story explored.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=362}}

[[File:Soviet armor in the spanish civil war.png|thumb|Review of Soviet armoured vehicles used to equip the [[Spanish Republican Army|Republican Army]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]]]]

Seeking better international relations, in 1934 the Soviet Union joined the [[League of Nations]], from which it had previously been excluded.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=386}} Stalin initiated confidential communications with Hitler in October 1933, shortly after the latter came to power.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=217}} Stalin admired Hitler, particularly his manoeuvres to remove rivals within the [[Nazi Party]] in the [[Night of the Long Knives]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=176|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=116|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=340}} Stalin nevertheless recognised the threat posed by fascism and sought to establish better links with the [[liberal democracies]] of Western Europe;{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=218|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=123, 135}} in May 1935, the Soviets signed treaties of mutual assistance with France and Czechoslovakia.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=135}} At the Communist International's [[Seventh World Congress of the Comintern|7th Congress]] in July–August 1935, the Soviet Union encouraged Marxist–Leninists to unite with other leftists as part of a [[popular front]] against fascism.{{Sfnm|1a1=Haslam|1y=1979|1pp=682–683|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=218|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=385|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=135}} In response, Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]].{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=392|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=154}}

When the [[Spanish Civil War]] broke out in July 1936, the Soviets sent military aid to the [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republican faction]], including 648 aircraft and 407 tanks, along with 3,000 Soviet troops and 42,000 members of the [[International Brigades]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=219|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=387}} Stalin took a personal involvement in the Spanish situation.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=154}} Germany and Italy backed the [[Nationalist faction]], which was ultimately victorious in March 1939.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=387, 389}} With the outbreak of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] in July 1937, the Soviet Union and China signed a [[Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact|non-aggression pact]].{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=156}} Stalin aided the Chinese as the KMT and the Communists suspended their civil war and formed his desired [[Second United Front|United Front]] against Japan.{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=392}}

====Great Purge====
{{Main|Great Purge}}
[[File:Vinnycia16.jpg|thumb|right|Exhumed mass grave of the [[Vinnytsia massacre]], 1943]]

Stalin's approach to state repression was often contradictory.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=126}} In May 1933, he released many convicted of minor offences, ordering the security services not to enact further mass arrests and deportations,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=125}} and in September 1934, he launched a commission to investigate false imprisonments. That same month, he called for the execution of workers at the Stalin Metallurgical Factory accused of spying for Japan.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=126}}{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=125}} During the [[17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|17th Congress of the Communist Party]], Stalin was re-elected as a member of the Central Committee, by a vote of 1059 or 1225, with 166 ballots missing or 13.5% of those attending.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thurston |first=Robert W. |title=Life and Terror in Stalin’s Russia, 1934-1941 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1996 |isbn=0-300-06401-2 |location=New Haven, CT |pages=20}}</ref> After [[Sergey Kirov|Sergei Kirov]] was murdered in December 1934, Stalin became increasingly concerned about assassination threats,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=179|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2pp=126–127|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=314|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=128–129}} and state repression intensified.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=128, 137}} Stalin issued a decree establishing [[NKVD troika]]s which could issue rapid and severe sentences without involving the courts.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=315}} In 1935, he ordered the NKVD to expel suspected counterrevolutionaries from urban areas;{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=318}} over 11,000 were expelled from Leningrad alone in early 1935.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=318}}

[[File:RIAN archive 910794 Memorial events in Bykovnya Graves reserve.jpg|thumb|right|Memorial to a victim of the Great Purge at the [[Bykivnia graves|Bykivnia mass grave]]]]

In 1936, [[Nikolai Yezhov]] became head of the [[NKVD]],{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=139}} after which Stalin moved to orchestrate the arrest and execution of his remaining opponents in the Communist Party in the [[Great Purge]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=314–317}} The first [[Moscow Trials|Moscow Trial]] in August 1936 saw Kamenev and Zinoviev executed.{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=139, 154–155, 164–172, 175–176|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=320|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=139}} The second trial took place in January 1937,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=139–140}} and the third in March 1938, with Bukharin and Rykov executed.{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=192–193|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=346|3a1=Conquest|3y=2008|3p=24 |4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=140}} By late 1937, all remnants of [[Collective leadership in the Soviet Union|collective leadership]] were gone from the Politburo, which was now effectively under Stalin's control.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=176–177}} There were mass expulsions from the party,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=349}} with Stalin also ordering foreign communist parties to purge anti-Stalinist elements.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=391}} These purges replaced most of the party's old guard with younger officials loyal to Stalin.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=137–138, 147}} Party functionaries readily carried out their commands and sought to ingratiate themselves with Stalin, to avoid becoming victims.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=140}} Such functionaries often carried out more arrests and executions than their quotas set by government.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=204}}

Repressions intensified further from December 1936 until November 1938.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=347}} In May 1937, Stalin ordered the [[Case of the Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization|arrest of much of the army's high command]], and mass arrests in the military followed.{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=201|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=349|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=140}} By late 1937, purges extended beyond the party to the wider population.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=141, 150}} In July 1937, the Politburo ordered a purge of "anti-Soviet elements", targeting anti-Stalin Bolsheviks, former Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, priests, ex–White Army soldiers, and common criminals.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=350|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=150–151}} Stalin initiated "[[Mass operations of the NKVD|national operations]]", the ethnic cleansing of non-Soviet ethnic groups — among them [[Polish Operation of the NKVD|Poles]], [[NKVD Order No. 00439|Germans]], [[Latvian Operation of the NKVD|Latvians]], [[Finnish Operation of the NKVD|Finns]], [[Greek Operation|Greeks]], [[Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union|Koreans]], and [[Soviet deportations of Chinese people|Chinese]] — through internal or external exile.{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=204|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=351, 390|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=151}} More than 1.6 million people were arrested, 700,000 shot, and an unknown number died under torture.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=151}} The [[NKVD]] also assassinated defectors and opponents abroad;{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=394}} in August 1940, Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico, eliminating Stalin's last major opponent.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=230|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=394|3a1=Overy|3y=2004|3p=338|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=174}}

Stalin initiated all key decisions during the purge, and personally directed many operations.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=151, 159}} Historians debate his motives,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=151}} noting his personal writings from the period were "unusually convoluted and incoherent", filled with claims about enemies encircling him.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=152}} He feared a domestic [[fifth column]] in the event of war with Japan and Germany,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=153, 156–157}} particularly after right-wing forces overthrew the leftist Spanish government.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=347–248|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=125, 156–157}} The Great Purge ended when Yezhov was replaced by [[Lavrentiy Beria]],{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=367}} a fellow Georgian completely loyal to Stalin.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=245}} Yezhov himself was arrested in April 1939 and executed in 1940.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=209|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=369|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=160}} The purge damaged the Soviet Union's reputation abroad, particularly among leftist sympathisers.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=162}} As it wound down, Stalin sought to deflect his responsibility,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=157}} blaming its "excesses" and "violations of law" on Yezhov.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=159}}

==World War II==
{{Main|Soviet Union in World War II}}

===1939–1941: The Pact with Nazi Germany===
As a Marxist–Leninist, Stalin considered conflict between competing capitalist powers inevitable; after Nazi Germany [[Anschluss|annexed Austria]] and then [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia|part of Czechoslovakia]] in 1938, he recognised a major war was looming.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=308}} He sought to maintain Soviet neutrality, hoping that a German war against France and the United Kingdom would lead to Soviet dominance in Europe.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=220–221|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=380–381}} The Soviets faced a threat from the east, with Soviet troops [[Soviet–Japanese border conflicts|clashing with the expansionist Japanese]] in the latter part of the 1930s, culminating in the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]] in 1939.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=392–393|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=163, 168–169}} Stalin initiated a military build-up, with the Red Army more than doubling between January 1939 and June 1941, although in haste many of its officers were poorly trained.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=185–186}} Between 1940 and 1941, Stalin [[1941 Red Army Purge|purged the military]], leaving it with a severe shortage of trained officers when war eventually broke out.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|pp=232–233, 236}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Stalin greeting German foreign minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] at the Kremlin, August 1939]]

As Britain and France seemed unwilling to commit to an alliance with the Soviet Union, Stalin saw a better deal with the Germans.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=399–400}} On 3 May 1939, he replaced his Western-oriented foreign minister [[Maxim Litvinov]] with [[Vyacheslav Molotov]].{{Sfn|Nekrich|1997|p=109}} Germany began negotiations with the Soviets, proposing that Eastern Europe be divided between the two powers.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=220|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=166}} In August 1939, the Soviet Union signed the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop pact|Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] with Germany, a non-aggression pact negotiated by Molotov and German foreign minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] with a secret protocol dividing Eastern Europe.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=221|2a1=Roberts|2y=1992|2pp=57–78|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=399|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=166}} On 1 September, [[Germany invaded Poland]], leading the UK and France to declare war on Germany.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=222|2a1=Roberts|2y=1992|2pp=57–78|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=169}} On 17 September, [[Soviet invasion of Poland|the Red Army entered eastern Poland]], officially to restore order.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=222|2a1=Roberts|2y=2006|2p=43}} On 28 September, Germany and the Soviet Union exchanged some of their conquered territories,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=223|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=402–403|3a1=Wettig|3y=2008|3p=20}} and a [[German–Soviet Frontier Treaty]] was signed shortly after in Stalin's presence.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=224}} The two states [[Nazi–Soviet economic relations (1934–41)|continued trading]], undermining the [[Blockade of Germany (1939–1945)|British blockade of Germany]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=224|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=405}}

The Soviets further demanded parts of eastern Finland, but the Finnish government refused. The Soviets invaded Finland in November 1939, starting the [[Winter War]]; despite numerical inferiority, the Finns kept the Red Army at bay.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=228|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=403|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=172–173}} International opinion backed Finland, with the Soviet Union being expelled from the League of Nations.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=279|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=173}} Embarrassed by their inability to defeat the Finns, the Soviets signed an [[Moscow Peace Treaty|interim peace treaty]], in which they received territorial concessions.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=403|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=173}} In June 1940, the Red Army occupied the Baltic states, which were [[Occupation of the Baltic states|annexed by Soviet Union]] in August;{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=227|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=404–405|3a1=Wettig|3y=2008|3pp=20–21|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=173}} they also invaded and annexed [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina|Bessarabia and northern Bukovina]], parts of Romania.{{Sfnm|1a1=Brackman|1y=2001|1p=341|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=173}} The Soviets sought to prevent dissent in the newly occupied territories with mass repressions.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=170}} A notable instance was the [[Katyn massacre]] of April and May 1940, in which around 22,000 people, mainly consisting of Polish intellectuals, members of the [[Polish Armed Forces (Second Polish Republic)|Polish Armed Forces]], and members of the [[State Police (Poland)|Polish State Police]], were executed by the [[NKVD]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=229|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=170}}

The speed of the German victory over and occupation of France in mid-1940 took Stalin by surprise.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=229|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=405}} He seemingly focused on appeasement in order to delay conflict.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=229|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=406}} After the [[Tripartite Pact]] was signed by the [[Axis powers]] of Germany, Japan, and Italy in October 1940, Stalin proposed that [[German–Soviet Axis talks|the USSR also join the Axis alliance]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=231|2a1=Brackman|2y=2001|2pp=341, 343|3a1=Roberts|3y=2006|3p=58}} To demonstrate peaceful intentions, in April 1941 the Soviets signed [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact|a neutrality pact]] with Japan.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=233|2a1=Roberts|2y=2006|2p=63}} Stalin, who had been the country's ''de facto'' head of government for almost 15 years, concluded that relations with Germany had deteriorated to such an extent that he needed to become ''de jure'' head of government as well, and on 6 May, replaced Molotov as [[Premier of the Soviet Union]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=234|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=180}}

===1941–1942: German invasion===
[[File:Battle of Moscow.jpg|thumb|With all the men at the front, women dig [[anti-tank trench]]es around Moscow in 1941]]

In June 1941, Germany [[invaded the Soviet Union]], initiating the war on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=410–411|2a1=Roberts|2y=2006|2p=82|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=198}} Despite intelligence agencies repeatedly warning him of Germany's intentions, Stalin was taken by surprise.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=408–409, 411–412|2a1=Roberts|2y=2006|2p=67|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=199–200, 202}} He formed a [[State Defence Committee]], which he headed as Supreme Commander,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=414–415|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=206–207}} as well as a military Supreme Command ([[Stavka]]),{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=413}} with [[Georgy Zhukov]] as its chief of staff.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=420}} The German tactic of ''[[blitzkrieg]]'' was initially highly effective; the Soviet air force in the western borderlands was destroyed within two days.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=417|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=201–202}} The German [[Wehrmacht]] pushed deep into Soviet territory;{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=235|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=416}} soon, Ukraine, Byelorussia, and the Baltic states were under German occupation, and [[Siege of Leningrad|Leningrad was under siege]];{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=418}} and Soviet refugees were flooding into Moscow and surrounding cities.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=417}} By July, Germany's [[Luftwaffe]] was bombing Moscow,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=418}} and by October the Wehrmacht was amassing for a full assault on the capital. Plans were made for the Soviet government to evacuate to [[Samara|Kuibyshev]], although Stalin decided to remain in Moscow, believing his flight would damage troop morale.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=248–249|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=420|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=214–215}} The German advance on Moscow was halted after [[Battle of Moscow|two months of battle]] in increasingly harsh weather conditions.{{Sfn|Glantz|2001|p=26}}

Going against the advice of Zhukov and other generals, Stalin emphasised attack over defence.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=421, 424|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=220}} In June 1941, he ordered a [[scorched earth]] policy of destroying infrastructure and food supplies before the Germans could seize them,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=482|2a1=Roberts|2y=2006|2p=90}} also commanding the [[NKVD prisoner massacres|NKVD to kill]] around 100,000 political prisoners in areas the Wehrmacht approached.{{Sfn|Gellately|2007|p=391}} He purged the military command; several high-ranking figures were demoted or reassigned and others were arrested and executed.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=239–240|2a1=Roberts|2y=2006|2p=98|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=209}} With [[Order No. 270]], Stalin commanded soldiers risking capture to fight to the death, describing the captured as traitors;{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=241|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=210}} among those taken as a [[prisoner of war]] was Stalin's son [[Yakov Dzhugashvili|Yakov]], who died in German custody.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=241–242|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=521}} Stalin issued [[Order No. 227]] in July 1942, which directed that those retreating unauthorised would be placed in "penal battalions" and used as [[cannon fodder]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Roberts|1y=2006|1p=132|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=223}} Both the German and Soviet armies disregarded the [[law of war|laws of war]] in the [[Geneva Conventions]];{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=423}} the Soviets heavily publicised Nazi massacres of communists, Jews, and [[Romani people|Romani]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=422}} In April 1942, Stalin sponsored the formation of the [[Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee]] (JAC) to garner global Jewish support for the war effort.{{Sfn|Overy|2004|p=568}}

[[File:RIAN archive 602161 Center of Stalingrad after liberation.jpg|thumb|The centre of [[Stalingrad]] after its liberation, February 1943]]

The Soviets allied with the UK and US;{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=211}} although the US joined the war against Germany in 1941, little direct American assistance reached the Soviets until late 1942.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=423}} Responding to the invasion, the Soviets expanded their industry in central Russia, focusing almost entirely on military production.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=421}} They achieved high levels of productivity, outstripping Germany.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=422}} During the war, Stalin was more tolerant of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] and allowed it to resume some of its activities.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=442–443|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=242–243}} He also permitted a wider range of cultural expression, notably permitting formerly suppressed writers and artists like [[Anna Akhmatova]] and [[Dmitri Shostakovich]] to disperse their work more widely.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=441}} "[[The Internationale]]" was dropped as the country's [[national anthem]], to be replaced with [[State Anthem of the Soviet Union|a more patriotic song]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=442}} The government increasingly promoted [[Pan-Slavist]] sentiment,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=446}} while encouraging increased criticism of [[cosmopolitanism]], particularly "rootless cosmopolitanism", an approach with particular repercussions for Soviet Jews.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=446–447}} The Communist International was dissolved in 1943,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=260|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=444}} and Stalin began encouraging foreign Marxist–Leninist parties to emphasise nationalism over internationalism in order to broaden their domestic appeal.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=446}}

In April 1942, Stalin overrode Stavka by ordering the Soviets' first serious counter-attack, an attempt to seize German-held [[Kharkov]] in eastern Ukraine. This attack proved unsuccessful.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=254|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=424|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=221–222}} That year, Hitler shifted his primary goal from an overall victory on the Eastern Front to the goal of securing the oil fields in the southern Soviet Union crucial to a long-term German war effort.{{Sfn|Roberts|2006|pp=117–118}} While Red Army generals saw evidence that Hitler would shift efforts south, Stalin considered this to be a flanking move in a renewed effort to take Moscow.{{Sfn|Roberts|2006|p=124}} In June 1942, the German Army began a [[Case Blue|major offensive]] in Southern Russia, threatening Stalingrad; Stalin ordered the Red Army to hold the city at all costs,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=425}} resulting in the protracted [[Battle of Stalingrad]], which became the bloodiest and fiercest battle of the entire war.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=426}} In February 1943, the German forces attacking Stalingrad surrendered.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=428|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=225}} The Soviet victory there marked a major turning point in the war;{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=225}} in commemoration, Stalin declared himself [[Marshal of the Soviet Union]] in March.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=429|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=226 |3a1=''Journal of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR'', 13 March 1943}}

===1942–1945: Soviet counter-attack===
[[File:Teheran conference-1943.jpg|thumb|The Big Three: Stalin, US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] at the [[Tehran Conference]], November 1943]]

By November 1942, the Soviets had begun to repulse the German southern campaign and, although there were 2.5&nbsp;million Soviet casualties in that effort, it permitted the Soviets to take the offensive for most of the rest of the war on the Eastern Front.{{Sfn|Roberts|2006|p=155}} In summer 1943, Germany [[Battle of Kursk|attempted an encirclement attack at Kursk]], which was successfully repulsed by the Soviets.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=255|2a1=Roberts|2y=2006|2p=156|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=227}} By the end of the year, the Soviets occupied half of the territory taken by the Germans to that point.{{Sfn|Roberts|2006|p=159}} Soviet military industrial output also had increased substantially from late 1941 to early 1943 after Stalin had moved factories well to the east of the front, safe from invasion and aerial assault.{{Sfn|Roberts|2006|p=163}}

In Allied countries, Stalin was increasingly depicted in a positive light over the course of the war.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=452}} In 1941, the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]] performed a concert to celebrate his birthday,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=466}} and in 1942, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine named him "[[Time Person of the Year|Man of the Year]]".{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=452}} When Stalin learnt that people in Western countries affectionately called him "Uncle Joe" he was initially offended, regarding it as undignified.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=317|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=466}} There remained mutual suspicions between Stalin, British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]], and US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], together known as the "Big Three".{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=458}} Churchill flew to Moscow to visit Stalin in August 1942 and again in October 1944.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=252|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=460|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|2pp=224, 244}} Stalin scarcely left Moscow during the war,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=456}} frustrating Roosevelt and Churchill with his reluctance to meet them.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=460}}

In November 1943, Stalin met with Churchill and Roosevelt [[Tehran Conference|in Tehran]], a location of Stalin's choosing.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=262|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=460|3a1=Roberts|3y=2006|3p=180|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=229–230}} There, Stalin and Roosevelt got on well, with both desiring the post-war dismantling of the [[British Empire]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=462}} At Tehran, the trio agreed that to prevent Germany rising to military prowess yet again, the German state should be broken up.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=463}} Roosevelt and Churchill also agreed to Stalin's demand that the German city of [[Königsberg]] be declared Soviet territory.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=463}} Stalin was impatient for the UK and US to open up a [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]] to take the pressure off the East; they eventually did so in mid-1944.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=244, 251|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=461, 469|3a1=Roberts|3y=2006|3p=185|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=223, 229}} Stalin insisted that, after the war, the Soviet Union should incorporate the portions of Poland it had occupied in 1939, which Churchill opposed.{{Sfn|Roberts|2006|pp=186–187}} Later in 1944, discussing the fate of the Balkans, Churchill agreed to Stalin's suggestion that after the war, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Yugoslavia would come under the Soviet sphere of influence while Greece would come under that of the Western powers.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=464–465|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=244}}

[[File:Soviet soldiers in Polozk (Belarus), passing by propaganda poster celebrating the reconquest of the city and urging the liberation of the Baltic from Nazi German occupation. July 4, 1944.jpg|thumb|left|Soviet soldiers in [[Polotsk]], July 1944]]

In 1944, the Soviet Union made significant advances across Eastern Europe toward Germany,{{Sfn|Roberts|2006|pp=194–195}} including [[Operation Bagration]], a massive offensive in the [[Byelorussian SSR]] against the German Army Group Centre.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=469|2a1=Roberts|2y=2006|2pp=199–201}} In 1944, the German armies were pushed out of the Baltic states, which were then re-annexed into the Soviet Union.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=492}} As the Red Army reconquered the Caucasus and Crimea, various ethnic groups living in the region—the [[Kalmyks]], [[Chechens]], [[Ingush people|Ingushi]], [[Karachai]], [[Balkars]], and [[Crimean Tatars]]—were accused of [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|having collaborated with the Germans]]. Using the idea of [[collective responsibility]] as a basis, Stalin's government abolished their autonomous republics and between late 1943 and 1944 deported the majority of their populations to Central Asia and Siberia.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=258|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=492|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=232–233}} Over one million people were deported as a result of the policy, with high rates of mortality.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=233}}

In February 1945, the three leaders met at the [[Yalta Conference]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=264|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=465|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=244}} Roosevelt and Churchill conceded to Stalin's demand that Germany pay the Soviet Union 20&nbsp;billion dollars in reparations, and that his country be permitted to annex [[Sakhalin]] and the [[Kuril Islands]] in exchange for entering the war against Japan.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=465–466}} An agreement was also made that a post-war Polish government should be a coalition consisting of both communist and conservative elements.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=465–466|2a1=Roberts|2y=2006|2pp=241–244}} Privately, Stalin sought to ensure that Poland would come fully under Soviet influence.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=471|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=245}} The Red Army withheld assistance to Polish resistance fighters battling the Germans in the [[Warsaw Uprising]], with Stalin believing that any victorious Polish militants could interfere with his future aspirations to dominate Poland.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=471–472|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=244}} Stalin placed great emphasis on capturing Berlin before the Western Allies, believing that this would enable him to bring more of Europe under long-term Soviet control. Churchill, concerned by this, unsuccessfully tried to convince the US that they should pursue the same goal.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=473}}

===1945: Victory===
[[File:USA C-1860 (26246410746).jpg|thumb|British Prime Minister [[Clement Attlee]], US President [[Harry S. Truman]], and Stalin at the [[Potsdam Conference]], July 1945]]

In April 1945, the Red Army [[Battle of Berlin|seized Berlin]], [[Death of Adolf Hitler|Hitler killed himself]], and Germany surrendered in May.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=474|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=247}} Stalin had wanted Hitler captured alive; he had his remains brought to Moscow in order to prevent them becoming a relic for Nazi sympathisers.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=479–480}} Many Soviet soldiers engaged in looting, pillaging, and rape, both in Germany and parts of Eastern Europe.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=265|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=473|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=234}} Stalin refused to punish the offenders.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=473}} With Germany defeated, Stalin switched focus to the [[Soviet–Japanese War|war with Japan]], transferring half a million troops to the Far East.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=474}} Stalin was pressed by his allies to enter the war and wanted to cement the Soviet Union's strategic position in Asia.{{Sfnm|Glantz|1983|p=xvii}} On 8 August, in between the US [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]], the Soviet army [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria|invaded Japanese-occupied Manchuria]] and northern Korea, defeating the [[Kwantung Army]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=476|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=248–249}} These events led to the [[Japanese surrender]] and the war's end.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=268|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=248}} The US rebuffed Stalin's desire for the Red Army to take a role in the Allied [[occupation of Japan]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=267|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=249}}

At the [[Potsdam Conference]] in July–August 1945, Stalin repeated previous promises that he would refrain from a "Sovietisation" of Eastern Europe.{{Sfn|Roberts|2006|pp=274–275}} Stalin pushed for reparations from Germany without regard to the base minimum supply for German citizens' survival, which worried [[Harry Truman]] and Churchill, who thought that Germany would become a financial burden for the Western powers.{{Sfn|Wettig|2008|pp=90–91}} Stalin also pushed for "war booty", which would permit the Soviet Union to directly seize property from conquered nations without quantitative or qualitative limitation, and a clause was added permitting this to occur with some limitations.{{Sfn|Wettig|2008|pp=90–91}} Germany was divided into four zones: Soviet, American, British, and French, with Berlin—located in the Soviet area—also divided thusly.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=506}}

==Post-war era ==

===1945–1947: Post-war reconstruction===
After the war, Stalin was at the apex of his career.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=481}} Within the Soviet Union he was widely regarded as the embodiment of victory and patriotism,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=484}} and his armies controlled [[Central and Eastern Europe]] up to the [[River Elbe]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=481}} In June 1945, Stalin adopted the title of [[Generalissimo of the Soviet Union|Generalissimo]]{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=493|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=247}} and stood atop Lenin's Mausoleum to watch [[Moscow Victory Parade of 1945|a celebratory parade]] led by Zhukov through Red Square.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=480–481}} At a banquet held for army commanders, he described the Russian people as "the outstanding nation" and "leading force" within the Soviet Union, the first time that he had unequivocally endorsed Russians over the other Soviet nationalities.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=479}} In 1946, the state published Stalin's ''Collected Works''.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=541}} In 1947, it brought out a second edition of his official biography, which glorified him to a greater extent than its predecessor.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=543–544}} He was quoted in ''Pravda'' on a daily basis and pictures of him remained pervasive on the walls of workplaces and homes.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=548}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R78376, Budapest, II. Weltfestspiele, Festumzug, Komsomolzen.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Banner of Stalin in [[Budapest]] in 1949]]

Despite his popularity and strengthened international position, Stalin was cautious about internal dissent and desire for change among the population of the Soviet Union.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=485|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=262}} He was also concerned about his returning armies, who had been exposed to a wide range of consumer goods in Germany, much of which they had looted and brought back with them. In this he recalled the 1825 [[Decembrist Revolt]] by Russian soldiers returning from having defeated France in the [[Napoleonic Wars]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=485}} He ensured that returning Soviet prisoners of war went through "filtration" camps as they arrived in the Soviet Union, in which 2,775,700 were interrogated to determine if they were traitors. About half were then imprisoned in labour camps.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=493|2a1=Roberts|2y=2006|2p=202}} In the Baltic states, where there was much opposition to Soviet rule, dekulakisation and de-clericalisation programmes were initiated, resulting in 142,000 deportations between 1945 and 1949.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=492}} The Gulag system of forced labour camps was expanded further. By January 1953, three percent of the Soviet population was imprisoned or in internal exile, with 2.8&nbsp;million in "special settlements" in isolated areas and another 2.5&nbsp;million in camps, penal colonies, and prisons.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=268}}

The [[NKVD]] were ordered to catalogue the scale of destruction during the war.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=482}} It was established that 1,710 Soviet towns and 70,000 villages had been destroyed.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=482–483}} The [[NKVD]] recorded that [[World War II casualties of the Soviet Union|between 26 and 27 million Soviet citizens had been killed]], with millions more being wounded, malnourished, or orphaned.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=482|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=261}} In the war's aftermath, some of Stalin's associates suggested modifications to government policy.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=500}} Post-war Soviet society was more tolerant than its pre-war phase in various respects. Stalin allowed the Russian Orthodox Church to retain the churches it had opened during the war,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=496}} and academia and the arts were also allowed greater freedom.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=497}} Recognising the need for drastic steps to be taken to combat inflation and promote economic recovery, in December 1947 Stalin's government devalued the rouble and abolished the food rationing system.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=497|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=274–278}} Capital punishment was abolished in 1947 but re-instituted in 1950.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=289}} Stalin's health deteriorated,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=269|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=491}} and he grew increasingly concerned that senior figures might try to oust him.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=526|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=268}} He demoted Molotov,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=531–532|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=272–273}} and increasingly favoured Beria and Malenkov for key positions.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=534}} In the [[Leningrad Affair|Leningrad affair]], the city's leadership was purged amid accusations of treachery; executions of many of the accused took place in 1950.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=534–535|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=282}}

In the post-war period there were often food shortages in Soviet cities,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=300–301}} and the USSR experienced a major [[Soviet famine of 1946–47|famine from 1946 to 1947]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=498|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=261}} Sparked by a drought and ensuing bad harvest in 1946, it was exacerbated by government policy towards food procurement, including the state's decision to build up stocks and export food rather than distributing it to famine-hit areas.{{Sfn|Ellman|2000|pp=611, 618–620}} Estimates indicate that between one million and 1.5&nbsp;million people died from malnutrition or disease as a result.{{Sfnm|1a1=Ellman|1y=2000|1p=622|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=261}} While agricultural production stagnated, Stalin focused on a series of major infrastructure projects, including the construction of hydroelectric plants, canals, and railway lines running to the polar north.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=299}} Many of these were constructed through prison labour.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=299}}

===1947–1950: Cold War policy===
[[File:Mao, Bulganin, Stalin, Ulbricht Tsedenbal.jpeg|thumb|right|225px|Stalin at his 70th birthday celebration with (left to right) [[Mao Zedong]], [[Nikolai Bulganin]], [[Walter Ulbricht]], and [[Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal]], in Moscow, December 1948]]

In the aftermath of the war, the British Empire declined, leaving the US and USSR as the dominant world powers.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=502–503}} Tensions among these former Allies grew,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=484}} resulting in the [[Cold War]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=503}} Although Stalin publicly described the British and US governments as aggressive, he thought it unlikely that a war with them would be imminent, believing that several decades of peace was likely.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=487}} He nevertheless secretly intensified Soviet research into nuclear weaponry, intent on creating an [[atom bomb]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=481}} Still, Stalin foresaw the undesirability of a nuclear conflict, stating that "atomic weapons can hardly be used without spelling the end of the world."{{Sfn|Gaddis|2005|p=57}} He personally took a keen interest in the development of the weapon.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=508}} In August 1949, the bomb was successfully tested in the [[Semipalatinsk Test Site|deserts outside Semipalatinsk]] in Kazakhstan.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=508|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=293}} Stalin also initiated a new military build-up; the Soviet army was expanded from 2.9&nbsp;million soldiers, as it stood in 1949, to 5.8&nbsp;million by 1953.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=297}}

The US began pushing its interests on every [[continent]], acquiring air force bases in Africa and Asia and ensuring pro-US regimes took power across Latin America.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=502}} It launched the [[Marshall Plan]] in June 1947, with which it sought to undermine Soviet [[hegemony]] throughout Eastern Europe. The US offered financial assistance to countries on the condition that they opened their markets to trade, aware that the Soviets would never agree.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=504|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=267}} The Allies demanded that Stalin withdraw the Red Army from northern Iran. He initially refused, leading to an [[Iran crisis of 1946|international crisis in 1946]], but relented one year later.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=504}} Stalin also tried to maximise Soviet influence on the world stage, unsuccessfully pushing for Libya—recently liberated from Italian occupation—to become a Soviet protectorate.<ref name="SergeiMazovTheSovietUnionTheItalianColoniesColdWarHistory2006">{{Cite journal |last=Mazov |first=Sergei |date=9 August 2006 |title=The USSR and the Former Italian Colonies, 1945–50 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248952254 |journal=[[Cold War History (journal)|Cold War History]] |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=49–78 |doi=10.1080/14682740312331391618 |s2cid=153413935 |access-date=19 March 2023 | issn=1468-2745}}</ref>{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=494}} He sent Molotov as his representative to San Francisco to take part in negotiations to form the United Nations, insisting that the Soviets have a place on its [[Security Council]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=503}} In April 1949, the Western powers established the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organisation]] (NATO), an anti-Soviet military alliance led by the US{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=507|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=281}} In the West, Stalin was increasingly portrayed as the "most evil dictator alive" and compared to Hitler.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=551}}

In 1948, Stalin edited and rewrote sections of ''[[Falsifiers of History]]'', published as a series of ''Pravda'' articles in February 1948 and then in book form. Written in response to public revelations of the 1939 Soviet alliance with Germany, it focused on blaming the Western powers for the war.{{Sfn|Roberts|2002|pp=96–98}} He also erroneously claimed that the initial German advance in the early part of the war, during Operation Barbarossa, was not a result of Soviet military weakness, but rather a deliberate Soviet strategic retreat.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=264}} In 1949, celebrations took place to mark Stalin's 70th birthday (although he actually was turning 71 at the time) at which Stalin attended an event at the [[Bolshoi Theatre]] alongside Marxist–Leninist leaders from across Europe and Asia.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=296|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=548–549|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=290}}

====Eastern Bloc====
[[File:EasternBloc BasicMembersOnly.svg|thumb|[[Eastern Bloc]] during the Cold War]]

After the war, Stalin sought to retain Soviet dominance across Eastern Europe while expanding its influence in Asia.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=492}} Cautiously regarding the responses from the Western Allies, Stalin avoided immediately installing communist governments in Eastern Europe, instead initially ensuring that Marxist-Leninists were placed in coalition ministries.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=494}} In contrast to his approach to the Baltic states, he rejected the proposal of merging the new communist states into the Soviet Union, rather recognising them as independent nation-states.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=517}} He was faced with the problem that there were few Marxists left in Eastern Europe, with most having been killed by the Nazis.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=483}} He demanded that war reparations be paid by Germany and its Axis allies Hungary, Romania, and the [[Slovak Republic (1939–1945)|Slovak Republic]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=484}} Aware that the countries of Eastern Europe had been pushed to socialism through invasion rather than revolution, Stalin called them "people's democracies" instead of "dictatorships of the proletariat".{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=518}}

Churchill observed that an "[[Iron Curtain]]" had been drawn across Europe, separating the east from the west.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=279|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=503}} In September 1947, a meeting of Eastern European communist leaders established the [[Cominform]] to coordinate communist parties across Eastern Europe and also in France and Italy.{{Sfnm |1a1=Conquest |1y=1991 |1p=286 |2a1=Service |2y=2004 |2p=506 |3a1=Khlevniuk |3y=2015 |3p=267}} Stalin did not personally attend the meeting, sending [[Andrei Zhdanov]] in his place.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=506}} Various East European communists also visited Stalin in Moscow.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=511}} There, he offered advice on their ideas; for instance, he cautioned against the Yugoslav idea for a [[Balkan Federation]] incorporating Bulgaria and Albania.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=511}} Stalin had a particularly strained relationship with Yugoslavian leader [[Josip Broz Tito]] due to the latter's continued calls for a Balkan federation and for Soviet aid for the communist forces in the ongoing [[Greek Civil War]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=286–287|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=515}} In March 1948, Stalin launched an anti-Tito campaign, accusing the Yugoslav communists of adventurism and deviating from Marxist–Leninist doctrine.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=515}} At the second Cominform conference, held in Bucharest in June 1948, East European communist leaders all denounced Tito's government, accusing them of being fascists and agents of Western capitalism.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=516}} Stalin ordered several assassination attempts on Tito's life and even contemplated an invasion of Yugoslavia itself.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=287}}

Stalin suggested that a unified, but demilitarised, German state be established, hoping that it would either come under Soviet influence or remain neutral.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=507}} When the US and UK opposed this, Stalin sought to force their hand by [[Berlin Blockade|blockading Berlin]] in June 1948.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=280|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=507|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=281}} He gambled that the Western powers would not risk war, but they airlifted supplies into West Berlin until May 1949, when Stalin relented and ended the blockade.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=507|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=281}} In September 1949, the Western powers transformed their zones into an independent [[Federal Republic of Germany]]; in response the Soviets formed theirs into the [[German Democratic Republic]] in October.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=507}} In accordance with earlier agreements, the Western powers expected Poland to become an independent state with free democratic elections.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=476}} In Poland, the Soviets merged various socialist parties into the [[Polish United Workers' Party]] (PZPR), and [[vote rigging]] was used to ensure that the PZPR secured office.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=515}} The 1947 Hungarian elections were also rigged by Stalin, with the [[Hungarian Working People's Party]] taking control.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=515}} In Czechoslovakia, where the communists did have a level of popular support, they were elected the largest party in 1946.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=512, 513}} Monarchy was abolished in Bulgaria and Romania.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=513}} Across Eastern Europe, the Soviet model was enforced, with a termination of political pluralism, agricultural collectivisation, and investment in heavy industry.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=516}} It was aimed at establishing economic [[autarky]] within the Eastern Bloc.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=516}}

====Asia====
[[File:Ji8, 3-1, Sino-Soviet Friendship, 1950.jpg|thumb|right|1950 Chinese stamp depicting Stalin and Mao shaking hands, commemorating the signing of the new [[Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance|Sino-Soviet Treaty]]]]

In October 1949, [[Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party|Chinese Communist Party chairman]] [[Mao Zedong]] took power in China and proclaimed the [[People's Republic of China]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=301|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=509|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=286}} Marxist governments now controlled a third of the world's land mass.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=509}} Privately, Stalin revealed that he had underestimated the Chinese Communists and their ability to win the civil war, instead encouraging them to make another peace with the KMT.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=553}} In December 1949, Mao visited Stalin. Initially, Stalin refused to repeal the [[Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance|Sino-Soviet Treaty of 1945]], which significantly benefited the Soviet Union over China, although in January 1950 he relented and agreed to sign [[Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance|a new treaty]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=509|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=287–291}} Stalin was concerned that Mao might follow Tito's example by pursuing a course independent of Soviet influence, and made it known that if displeased he would withdraw assistance; the Chinese desperately needed said assistance after decades of civil war.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=552|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=287}}

At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union and the US divided up the Korean Peninsula, formerly a Japanese colonial possession, along the [[Division of Korea|38th parallel]], setting up a communist government in the north and a pro-Western, anti-communist government in the south.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=552|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=294}} North Korean leader [[Kim Il Sung]] visited Stalin in March 1949 and again in March 1950; he wanted to invade the south, and although Stalin was initially reluctant to provide support, he eventually agreed by May 1950.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=302|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=553|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=294–295}} The [[North Korean Army]] launched the [[Korean War]] by invading South Korea in June 1950, making swift gains and capturing [[Seoul]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=554}} Both Stalin and Mao believed that a swift victory would ensue.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=554}} The US went to the UN Security Council—which the Soviets were boycotting over its refusal to recognise Mao's government—and secured international military support for the South Koreans. US-led forces pushed the North Koreans back.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=554|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=295–296}} Stalin wanted to avoid direct Soviet conflict with the US, and convinced the Chinese to enter the war to aid the North in October 1950.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=555–556|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=296}}

The Soviet Union was one of the first nations to extend diplomatic recognition to the newly created [[state of Israel]] in 1948, in hopes of obtaining an ally in the Middle East.{{Sfn|Yegorov, 15 December 2017}} When the Israeli ambassador [[Golda Meir]] arrived in the USSR, Stalin was angered by the Jewish crowds who gathered to greet her.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=291}} He was further angered by Israel's [[Israel–United States relations|growing alliance with the US]]{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=285}} After Stalin fell out with Israel, he launched an anti-Jewish campaign within the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=518}} In November 1948, he abolished the JAC,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=291|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=577|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=284}} and show trials took place for some of its members.{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=567|2a1=Brackman|2y=2001|2pp=384–385}} The Soviet press engaged in vituperative attacks on [[Zionism]], Jewish culture, and "rootless cosmopolitanism",{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=291|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=308–309}} with growing levels of antisemitism being expressed across Soviet society.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=576–577}} [[Joseph Stalin and antisemitism|Stalin's increasing tolerance of antisemitism]] may have stemmed from his increasing Russian nationalism or from the recognition that antisemitism had proved a useful tool for Hitler;{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=290}} he may have increasingly viewed the Jewish people as a "counter-revolutionary" nation.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=286}} There were rumours that Stalin was planning on deporting all Soviet Jews to the [[Jewish Autonomous Region]] in [[Birobidzhan]] in Siberia.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=577|2a1=Overy|2y=2004|2p=565|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=309}}

===1950–1953: Final years===
[[File:Vrachi-timashuk.png|thumb|upright|Decree dated 20 January 1953 awarding Lydia Timashuk the [[Order of Lenin]] for "unmasking doctors-killers". Revoked after Stalin's death later that year.]]

During the last three years of his life, Stalin was in poor health.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=571}} He took increasingly long holidays; in the summer of 1950 and again in 1951 where he spent almost five months on holiday at his Abkhazian dacha.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=572|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=195}} Stalin nevertheless mistrusted his doctors; in January 1952 he had one imprisoned after they suggested that he should retire to improve his health.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=571}} In September 1952, several Kremlin doctors were arrested for allegedly plotting to kill senior politicians in what came to be known as the [[doctors' plot]]; the majority of the accused were Jewish.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=309|2a1=Etinger|2y=1995|2p=104|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=576|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=307}} Stalin ordered that the doctors be tortured to ensure confessions.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=309|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=307–308}} In November, the [[Slánský trial]] took place in Czechoslovakia, in which 13 senior Communist Party figures, 11 of them Jewish, were accused and convicted of being part of a vast Zionist-American conspiracy to subvert the Eastern Bloc.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=308|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=307}} The same month, a much publicised trial of accused Jewish industrial wreckers took place in Ukraine.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=308}} In 1951, Stalin initiated the [[Mingrelian affair]], a purge of the Georgian Communist Party which resulted in over 11,000 deportations.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=304–305}}

From 1946 until his death, Stalin only gave three public speeches, two of which lasted only a few minutes.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=560}} The amount of written material that he produced also declined.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=560}} In 1950, Stalin issued the article "[[Marxism and Problems of Linguistics]]", which reflected his interest in questions of Russian nationhood.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=564–565}} In 1952, Stalin's last book, ''[[Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR]]'', was published. It sought to provide a guide to leading the country after his death.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=307|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=566–567}} In October 1952, he gave an hour and a half speech at the Central Committee plenum.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=578}} There, he emphasised what he regarded as necessary leadership qualities, and highlighted the weaknesses of potential successors, notably Molotov and Mikoyan.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=579|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=306}} In 1952, he eliminated the Politburo and replaced it with a larger version he named the Presidium.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=305–306}}

====Death, funeral, and aftermath====
{{Main|Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin}}
[[File:Stalin's funeral procession entering Manezhnaya Square from Okhotny Ryad.jpg|thumb|Stalin's funeral procession on [[Okhotny Ryad (street)|Okhotny Ryad]]]]

On the late afternoon of 1 March 1953, Stalin's staff found him semi-conscious on the bedroom floor of his [[Kuntsevo Dacha]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=311|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=571–572|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=582–584|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=142, 191}} He was moved onto a couch and remained there for three days,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=311–312|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=572|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=142}} during which he was hand-fed using a spoon and given various medicines and injections.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=312}} Stalin's condition continued to deteriorate, and he died on 5 March.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=313|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=574|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=586|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=313}} An autopsy revealed that he had died of a [[Intracerebral hemorrhage|cerebral haemorrhage]], and that his cerebral arteries had been severely damaged by [[atherosclerosis]].{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=189}} Stalin's death was announced on 6 March;{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=588}} his body was embalmed,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=588|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=314}} and then displayed in Moscow's House of Unions for three days.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=317}} The crowds coming to view the body were so large and disorganised that many people were killed in a [[crowd crush]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=588|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=317}} At the funeral on 9 March, attended by hundreds of thousands, Stalin was laid to rest in [[Lenin's Mausoleum]] in Red Square.{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=576|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=589|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=318}}

Stalin left neither a designated successor nor a framework within which a peaceful transfer of power could take place.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=310}} The Central Committee met on the day of his death, after which Malenkov, Beria, and Khrushchev emerged as the party's dominant figures.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=586–587}} The system of [[Collective leadership in the Soviet Union|collective leadership]] was restored, and measures introduced to prevent any one member from attaining autocratic domination.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=312}} The collective leadership included [[Georgy Malenkov]], [[Lavrentiy Beria]], [[Vyacheslav Molotov]], [[Kliment Voroshilov]], [[Nikita Khrushchev]], [[Nikolai Bulganin]], [[Lazar Kaganovich]], and [[Anastas Mikoyan]].{{Sfn|Ra'anan|2006|p=20}} Reforms to the Soviet system were immediately implemented.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=591}} Economic reform scaled back mass construction projects, placed a new emphasis on house building, and eased the levels of taxation on the peasantry to stimulate production.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=315}} The new leaders sought rapprochement with Yugoslavia and a less hostile relationship with the US,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=593}} and they pursued a negotiated end to the Korean War in July 1953.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=316}}<ref name="cohen13">{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Warren I. |title=The New Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-1390-3251-3 |volume=4: Challenges to American Primacy, 1945 to the Present |pages=58–78 |chapter=The Korean War and Its Consequences |doi=10.1017/CHO9781139032513.006}}</ref> The imprisoned doctors were released and the antisemitic purges ceased.{{Sfnm|1a1=Etinger|1y=1995|1pp=120–121|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=314|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=314}} [[Amnesty of 1953|A mass amnesty]] for certain convicts was issued, halving the country's inmate population, and the state security and Gulag systems were reformed.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=315}}

==Political ideology and beliefs==
{{Main|Stalinism}}
{{Further|Marxism–Leninism}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-18684-0002, Dresden, Tod Stalin, Parade KVP.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Mourning parade in honour of Stalin in [[Dresden]], [[East Germany]], 1953]]

Stalin claimed to have embraced Marxism at the age of 15,{{Sfn|Rieber|2005|p=32}} and it served as the guiding philosophy throughout his adult life;{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=9}} according to Kotkin, Stalin held "zealous Marxist convictions",{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=xi}} while Montefiore suggested that Marxism held a "quasi-religious" value for Stalin.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=336}} Erik van Ree argues that Stalin did not view Marxism as a literal religion, but believed it was necessary for the masses to experience it as one, calling it "the religion of a class". Stalin believed that the masses required an object of religious devotion and had the "psychology of the herd" and needed a "leading ram", a paternalist "tsar", "a person they can worship and in whose name they can live and work."<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Van Ree, E.|year=2016|title=Stalinist Ritual and Belief System: Reflections on 'Political Religion.'|journal=Politics, Religion & Ideology|volume=17|issue=2–3|pages=143–161|doi=10.1080/21567689.2016.1187600}}</ref> Although he never became a [[Georgian nationalism|Georgian nationalist]],{{Sfn|Rieber|2005|p=43}} during his early life elements from Georgian nationalist thought blended with Marxism in his outlook.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=67}} Stalin believed in the need to adapt Marxism to changing circumstances; in 1917, he declared that "there is dogmatic Marxism and there is creative Marxism. I stand on the ground of the latter".{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=136|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=205|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=47}} According to scholar [[Robert Service (historian)|Robert Service]], Stalin's "few innovations in ideology were crude, dubious developments of Marxism".{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=9}}

{{Stalinism sidebar|people}}

Stalin believed in an inevitable "[[class war]]" between the world's proletariat and [[bourgeoisie]]{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=93|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=7}} in which the working classes would prove victorious and establish a [[dictatorship of the proletariat]],{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=93}} regarding the Soviet Union as an example of such a state.{{Sfn|Sandle|1999|p=216}} He also believed that this proletarian state would need to introduce repressive measures against foreign and domestic "enemies" to ensure the full crushing of the propertied classes,{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=93–94}} and thus the class war would intensify with the advance of socialism.{{Sfnm|1a1=Sandle|1y=1999|1p=214|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=8}} As a propaganda tool, the shaming of "enemies" explained all inadequate economic and political outcomes, the hardships endured by the populace, and military failures.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=8}}

Stalin adhered to the [[Leninist]] variant of Marxism.{{Sfnm|1a1=Deutscher|1y=1966|1p=86|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=10, 699}} In his book, [[The Foundations of Leninism|''Foundations of Leninism'']], he stated that "Leninism is the Marxism of the epoch of imperialism and of the proletarian revolution".{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=545}} He claimed to be a loyal Leninist,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=92}} although was—according to Service—"not a blindly obedient Leninist".{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=94}} Stalin respected Lenin, but not uncritically,{{Sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=211}} and spoke out when he believed that Lenin was wrong.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=94}} During the period of his revolutionary activity, Stalin regarded some of Lenin's views and actions as being the self-indulgent activities of a spoilt émigré, deeming them counterproductive for those Bolshevik activists based within the Russian Empire itself.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=95|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=211}} After the October Revolution, they continued to have differences,{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=179–180}} although Kotkin suggested that Stalin's friendship with Lenin was "the single most important relationship in Stalin's life".{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=531}}

Stalin viewed nations as contingent entities which were formed by capitalism and could merge into others.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=98}} Ultimately, he believed that all nations would merge into a single, global community,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=98}} and regarded all nations as inherently equal.{{Sfn|Overy|2004|p=552}} In his work, he stated that "the right of secession" should be offered to the ethnic minorities of the Russian Empire, but that they should not be encouraged to take that option.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=99}} He was of the view that if they became fully autonomous, then they would end up being controlled by the most reactionary elements of their community.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=99}} Stalin's push for Soviet westward expansion into Eastern Europe resulted in accusations of [[Russian imperialism]].{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=5}}

==Personal life and characteristics==
Ethnically Georgian,{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=1}} Stalin grew up speaking the Georgian language,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=1|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=97}} and did not begin learning Russian until age eight or nine.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=97}} It has been argued that his ancestry was genetically [[Ossetian people|Ossetian]], but he never acknowledged an Ossetian identity.{{Sfn|Foltz|2021|pp=94–97}} He remained proud of his Georgian identity,{{Sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=66–67}} and throughout his life retained a heavy Georgian accent when speaking Russian.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=1|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=2|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=42|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=97}}{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=579}} Some colleagues described him as "Asiatic", and he supposedly said that "I am not a European man, but an Asian, a Russified Georgian".{{Sfn|Rieber|2005|p=18}}
[[File:Lavrenti Beria Stalins family.jpg|thumb|[[Lavrentiy Beria]] with Stalin's daughter, [[Svetlana Alliluyeva|Svetlana]], on his lap, with Stalin and [[Nestor Lakoba]] in the background, 1931]]

Described as soft-spoken{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=183|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=5|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2017|3p=5}} and a poor orator,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=149|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=49|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=334|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=52}} Stalin's style was "simple and clear, without flights of fancy, catchy phrases or platform [[wikt:histrionics#Noun|histrionics]]".{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|pp=xx–xxi}} He rarely spoke before large audiences and preferred to express himself in writing.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=329}} In adulthood, Stalin measured {{convert|5|ft|7|in|m|abbr=in|order=flip}} in height.{{sfn|Kotkin|2017|p=40}}{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=65}} His moustached face was pock-marked from [[smallpox]] during childhood; this was airbrushed from published photographs.{{Sfn|Kotkin|2017|p=4}} His left arm had been injured in childhood leaving it shorter than his right and lacking in flexibility.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=25|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=13–14}} Stalin was a lifelong smoker, who smoked both a pipe and cigarettes.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=282|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=146 |3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=435, 438, 574|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2017|4p=1}} Publicly, he lived relatively plainly, with simple and inexpensive clothing and furniture.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=311 |2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=102|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2003|3pp=36–37|4a1=Service|4y=2004|4pp=497–498}} As leader, Stalin rarely left Moscow unless for holiday;{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=331}} he disliked travel,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=102, 227}} and refused to travel by plane.{{Sfnm|1a1=Khlevniuk|1y=2015|1p=195|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2017|2p=3}} In 1934, his [[Kuntsevo Dacha]] was built {{Convert|9|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the Kremlin and became his primary residence.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=215|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=103|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=295}} He holidayed in the south USSR every year from 1925 to 1936 and 1945 to 1951,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=191}} often in [[Abkhazia]], being a friend of its leader, [[Nestor Lakoba]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=66–67|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=296}}

===Personality===
[[File:Stalin Full Image.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Stalin in 1937]]

Trotsky and several other Soviet figures promoted the idea that Stalin was a mediocrity,{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=xvi|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=xxiii|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=4|4a1=Montefiore|4y=2007|4p=xxiv}} a characterisation which gained widespread acceptance outside of the Soviet Union during his lifetime.{{sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=xxiv}} However, historians have described him as having a complex mind,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=343}} remarkable self-control,{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=8|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=337}} and strong memory.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=193, 274|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=63|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=115|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=425|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=148}} Stalin was a diligent worker{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=42|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=353|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=424, 465, 597}} and an effective and strategic organiser,{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=42|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=424}} with a keen interest in learning.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=115}} As a leader, he meticulously scrutinised details, from film scripts to military plans,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=4–5}} and judged others by their inner strength and cleverness.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=342}} He was skilled at playing different roles depending on the audience,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=317|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=xxvi|3a1=McDermott|3y=2006|3p=13}} as well as in deception.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=xvi|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=18|3a1=McDermott|3y=2006|3p=13}} Although he could be rude,{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=120|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=648}} Stalin rarely raised his voice;{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=337}} however, as his health deteriorated, he became unpredictable and bad-tempered.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=145}} He could be charming and enjoyed cracking jokes when relaxed.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=115}} At social events, Stalin encouraged singing and drinking, hoping others would drunkenly reveal secrets to him.{{Sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=2003|1p=90|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=437, 522–523|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=5}}

Stalin lacked compassion,{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=4|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=7}} possibly exacerbated by his repeated imprisonments and exiles,{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=8}} though he occasionally showed kindness to strangers, even during the Great Purge.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=334}} He could be self-righteous,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=258|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=285}} resentful,{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=4, 344}} and vindictive,{{Sfnm|1a1=Kotkin|1y=2014|1p=597|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2017|2p=6}} often holding grudges for years.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=10, 344|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2017|2p=5}} By the 1920s, he had become suspicious and conspiratorial, prone to believing in plots against him and international conspiracies.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=336|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=736}} While he never attended torture sessions or executions,{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=175}} Stalin took pleasure in degrading and humiliating people and kept even close associates in a state of "unrelieved fear".{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=5}} [[Robert_Service_(historian)|Service]] suggested he had tendencies toward a [[paranoid]] and [[sociopathic personality disorder]].{{sfn|Service|2004|p=343}} Historian E. A. Rees believed it was psychopathy that bred Stalin's tyranny, citing a 1927 diagnosis by neuropathologist [[Vladimir Bekhterev]] that described him as a "typical case of severe paranoia".{{Sfn|Rees|2013|p=219}} Others have linked Stalin's brutality to his commitment to the survival of the Soviet Union and Marxist–Leninist ideology.{{Sfn|McDermott|2006|p=12}}

[[File:Stalin 1920-2 1920.07.03.jpg|thumb|Stalin reading a newspaper, 1920]]

Stalin had a keen interest in the arts.{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=620}} He protected certain Soviet writers, such as [[Mikhail Bulgakov]], even when their work was criticised as harmful to his regime.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=96}} Stalin enjoyed classical music,{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=73|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=6}} owned around 2,700 records,{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=6}} and often attended the [[Bolshoi Theatre]] in the 1930s and 40s.{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|pp=127, 148}} His taste was conservative, favouring classical drama, opera, and ballet over what he dismissed as experimental "[[Formalism (art)|formalism]]",{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=97}} and disliked [[avant-garde]] in the visual arts.{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=131}} An [[autodidact]],{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=86|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=117, 676}} Stalin was a voracious reader who kept over 20,000 books,{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=86|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=9|3a1=McDermott|3y=2006|3p=19|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2017|4pp=1–2, 5}} with little fiction.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=93}} His favourite subject was history, and he was especially interested in the reigns of Russian leaders [[Ivan the Terrible]], [[Peter the Great]], and [[Catherine the Great]].{{Sfn|Roberts|2022|p=2}} Lenin was his favourite author, but he read and appreciated works by Trotsky and other adversaries.{{Sfn|Roberts|2022|p=2}}

===Relationships and family===
[[File:Joseph Stalin with daughter Svetlana, 1935.jpg|thumb|left|Stalin carrying his daughter [[Svetlana Alliluyeva|Svetlana]] in 1935]]

Stalin married his first wife, [[Ekaterina Svanidze]], in 1906. Volkogonov suggested that she was "probably the one human being he had really loved".{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=4}} When she died in 1907, Stalin allegedly said: "This creature softened my heart of stone. She died and with her died my last warm feelings for humanity."{{Sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=202}} They had a son, [[Yakov Dzhugashvili|Yakov]], who frequently frustrated and annoyed Stalin.{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=149|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=64|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=167|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=25}} After Yakov was captured by the German Army during World War II, Stalin refused to agree to a prisoner exchange between him and German field marshal [[Friedrich Paulus]], and Yakov died at a Nazi concentration camp in 1943.{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1pp=150–151|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=364}}

In exile in [[Solvychegodsk]] in 1910, Stalin had an affair with his landlady, Maria Kuzakova, who in 1911 gave birth to his alleged second son, [[Konstantin Kuzakov]],{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=79|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2pp=227, 229, 230–231|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=121}} who later taught philosophy at the [[Baltic State Technical University|Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute]], but never met Stalin.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=365–366}} In 1914 in [[Kureika (village)|Kureika]], Stalin, aged 35, had a relationship with Lidia Pereprygina, aged 14 (considered a minor at the time), who allegedly became pregnant with Stalin's child.{{Sfnm|1a1=Suny|1y=2020|1p=559|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=30}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Гамов |first=Александр |date=8 November 2018 |title=Stalin promised the gendarmes that he would marry his 14-year-old mistress as soon as she became an adult |url=https://www.kp.ru/daily/26905.4/3949946/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713032535/https://www.kp.ru/daily/26905.4/3949946/ |archive-date=13 July 2023 |access-date=21 May 2023 |work=Kp.ru -}}</ref> In December 1914, Pereprygina gave birth to the child, although the infant died soon after.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=292–293}} In 1916, Pereprygina was pregnant again. She gave birth to their alleged son, [[Alexander Davydov (soldier)|Alexander Davydov]], in around April 1917. He was raised as the son of a peasant fisherman;{{Sfn|Montefiore|2007|p=366}} Stalin later came to know of the child's existence but showed no interest in him.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2007|pp=298, 300}}

Stalin's second wife was [[Nadezhda Alliluyeva]], whom he married in 1919; theirs was not an easy relationship, they often fought.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=8}} They had two biological children—a son, [[Vasily Dzhugashvili|Vasily]], and daughter, [[Svetlana Alliluyeva|Svetlana]]—and adopted another son, [[Artyom Sergeev]], in 1921.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=9}} It is unclear if Stalin had a mistress during or after this marriage.{{Sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=13|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=255}} She suspected he was unfaithful,{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=12}} and committed suicide in 1932.{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=154|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=16|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=255}} Stalin regarded Vasily as spoiled and often chastised his behaviour; as Stalin's son, he was swiftly promoted through the Red Army and allowed a lavish lifestyle.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=257, 259–260}} Conversely, Stalin had an affectionate relationship with Svetlana during her childhood,{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=215|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=153|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2003|3pp=9, 227|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=256}} and was very fond of Artyom.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=9}} He disapproved of Svetlana's suitors and husbands, which put strain on their relationship.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=260|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=521}} After World War II, he made little time for his children, and his family played a diminishing role in his life.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=250, 259}} After Stalin's death, Svetlana changed her surname to Alliluyeva,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=593}} and defected to the US.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=260}}

==Legacy==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-11500-0497, Berlin, Karl-Marx-Allee, Denkmal Stalin.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Statue of Joseph Stalin, Berlin|Statue of Stalin]] in [[East Berlin]], 1951. It was removed in 1961 as part of [[de-Stalinisation]].]]

Leninists remain divided in their views on Stalin; some view him as Lenin's authentic successor, while others believe he betrayed Lenin's ideas by deviating from them.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=5}} The historian [[Robert Conquest]] stated that Stalin perhaps "determined the course of the twentieth century" more than any other individual.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=xi}}  For most Westerners and [[anti-communist]] Russians, he is viewed overwhelmingly negatively as a [[mass murder]]er;{{Sfn|McDermott|2006|p=1}} for significant numbers of Russians and Georgians, he is regarded as a great statesman and state-builder.{{Sfn|McDermott|2006|p=1}} The historian [[Dmitri Volkogonov]] characterised him as "one of the most powerful figures in [[human history]]."{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=xviii}}

According to Service, Stalin strengthened and stabilised the Soviet Union.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=3}} In under three decades, Stalin transformed the country into a major industrial world power,{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=546|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=3}} one which could "claim impressive achievements" in terms of urbanisation, military strength, education and Soviet pride.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=602}} Under his rule, the average Soviet life expectancy grew due to improved living conditions, nutrition and medical care{{Sfn|Wheatcroft|1999}} as mortality rates declined.{{Sfn|Ellman|2002|p=1164}} Although millions of Soviet citizens despised him, support for Stalin was nevertheless widespread throughout Soviet society.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=602}} Conversely, the historian [[Vadim Rogovin]] argued that Stalin's purges "caused losses to the communist movement both in the USSR and throughout the world from which the movement has not recovered to this very day".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rogovin |first=Vadim Zakharovich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PZ92ueBx7MQC |title=1937: Stalin's Year of Terror |date=1998 |publisher=Mehring Books |isbn=978-0-9290-8777-1 |page=xxviii}}</ref> Similarly, [[Nikita Khrushchev]] believed his purges of the [[Old Bolsheviks]] and leading figures in the military and academia had "undoubtedly" weakened the nation.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Khrushchev |first1=Nikita Sergeevich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uv1zv4FZhFUC&dq=stalin+weaken+soviet+union+old+bolsheviks&pg=PT170 |title=Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev |last2=Khrushchev |first2=Serge |date=2004 |publisher=Penn State Press |isbn=978-0-2710-2861-3 |page=156 |access-date=3 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813012847/https://books.google.com/books?id=uv1zv4FZhFUC&dq=stalin+weaken+soviet+union+old+bolsheviks&pg=PT170 |archive-date=13 August 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Stalin's necessity for the Soviet Union's economic development has been questioned, and it has been argued that his policies from 1928 onwards may have been a limiting factor.{{Sfnm|1a1=Cheremukhin|1a2=Golosov|1a3=Guriev|1a4=Tsyvinski|1y=2013|2a1=Dower|2a2=Markevich|2y=2018|2p=246}} Stalin's Soviet Union has been characterised as a [[totalitarian]] state,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=602|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=190}} with Stalin its authoritarian leader.{{Sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=732}} Various biographers have described him as a dictator,{{Sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=2003|1p=8|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=52|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2007|3p=9|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=xii|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=12}} an [[autocrat]],{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=194|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=31|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=370}} or accused him of practising [[Caesarism]].{{Sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=77}} Montefiore argued that while Stalin initially ruled as part of a Communist Party [[oligarchy]], the government transformed into a personal dictatorship in 1934,{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=124}} with Stalin only becoming "absolute dictator" after March–June 1937, when senior military and [[NKVD]] figures were eliminated.{{Sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=215}} In both the Soviet Union and elsewhere he came to be portrayed as an "Oriental [[Despotism|despot]]".{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=xvii|2a1=McDermott|2y=2006|2p=5}} McDermott nevertheless cautioned against "over-simplistic stereotypes"—promoted in the fiction of writers like [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]]—which portrayed Stalin as an omnipotent and omnipresent tyrant who controlled every aspect of Soviet life.{{Sfn|McDermott|2006|pp=5–6}}

[[File:May Day in London.jpg|thumb|Supporters of the [[Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist)]] carrying a banner of Stalin at a May Day march in London, 2008]]

A vast literature devoted to Stalin has been produced.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=ix}} During Stalin's lifetime, his approved biographies were largely [[hagiographic]] in content.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=4}} Stalin ensured that these works gave very little attention to his early life, particularly because he did not wish to emphasise his Georgian origins in a state numerically dominated by Russians.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=13}} Since his death many more biographies have been written,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=6}} although until the 1980s these relied largely on the same sources of information.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=6}} Under [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s Soviet administration various previously classified files on Stalin's life were made available to historians,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=6}} at which point he became "one of the most urgent and vital issues on the public agenda" in the Soviet Union.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=xiii}} After the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution of the Union in 1991]], the rest of the archives were opened to historians, resulting in much new information about Stalin coming to light,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=6|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=xxi}} and producing a flood of new research.{{Sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=ix}}

===Death toll ===
{{Main|Excess mortality in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin}}
[[File:GULag 2 Museum Moscow Russia.jpg|thumb|Interior of the [[Gulag]] Museum in Moscow]]

Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the archival revelations, some Western historians estimated that the numbers killed by Stalin's regime were 20 million or higher.<ref>[[Robert Conquest]]. ''The Great Terror.'' NY Macmillan, 1968 p. 533 (20 million)</ref><ref>[[Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko]], ''The Time of Stalin,'' NY Harper & Row 1981. p. 126 (30–40 million)</ref><ref>Elliot, Gill. ''Twentieth Century Book of the Dead.'' Penguin Press 1972. pp. 223–24 (20 million)</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rosefielde |first=Steven |date=1987 |title=Incriminating Evidence: Excess Deaths and Forced Labour under Stalin: A Final Reply to Critics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/151137 |journal=Soviet Studies |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=292–313 |doi=10.1080/09668138708411691 |jstor=151137 |pmid=11618167 |issn=0038-5859|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The [[scholarly consensus]] affirms that Soviet archival materials declassified in 1991 contain irrefutable data much lower than Western sources used prior to 1991, such as statements from [[emigres]] and other informants.<ref>{{harvnb|Healey|2018}}: "New studies using declassified Gulag archives have provisionally established a consensus on mortality and "inhumanity.""</ref> Based on these records, scholars have estimated that 1.8 million people were [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|deported to remote regions of the country]] during Stalin's [[dekulakisation]] campaign, in addition to 1 million peasants and ethnic minorities deported in the 1930s, and 3.5 million people (mainly ethnic minorities) deported in the 1940s and 1950s, for a total of 6.3 million.{{Sfn|Ellman|2002|p=1159}} The Soviet archives also contain official records of 799,455 executions from 1921 to 1953,{{Sfn|Getty|Rittersporn|Zemskov|1993|p=1022}}<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/education/2002/sep/12/highereducation.historyandhistoryofart Seumas Milne: "The battle for history"] , ''The Guardian''. (12 September 2002). Retrieved 14 July 2013.</ref> around 1.5 to 1.7&nbsp;million deaths in [[Gulag]] camps (out of an estimated 18 million people who passed through),{{Sfn|Healey|2018|p=1049|ps=: "New studies using declassified Gulag archives have provisionally established a consensus on mortality and 'inhumanity.' The tentative consensus says that once secret records of the Gulag administration in Moscow show a lower death toll than expected from memoir sources, generally between 1.5 and 1.7 million (out of 18 million who passed through) for the years from 1930 to 1953."}}<ref name="Pluto Press">{{cite book |last1=Haynes |first1=Michael |title=A Century of State Murder?: Death and Policy in Twentieth Century Russia |date=2003 |publisher=Pluto Press |isbn=978-0-7453-1930-8 |pages=214–15}}</ref><ref>[[Anne Applebaum|Applebaum, Anne]] (2003) ''[[Gulag: A History]]''. [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]. {{ISBN|0-7679-0056-1}} pp. 582–583.</ref> some 390,000<ref name="The Stalinist Penal System">{{cite book |last1=Pohl |first1=J. Otto |title=The Stalinist Penal System |date=1997 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=0-7864-0336-5 |page=58}}</ref> deaths during the dekulakisation forced resettlement, and up to 400,000 deaths of persons [[Forced settlements in the Soviet Union|deported]] during the 1940s,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pohl |first1=J. Otto |title=The Stalinist Penal System |date=1997 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=0-7864-0336-5 |page=148}} Pohl cites Russian archival sources for the death toll in the special settlements from 1941–49</ref> with a total of about 3.3 million officially recorded victims in these categories.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Wheatcroft, Stephen G.|year=1999|title=Victims of Stalinism and the Soviet Secret Police: The Comparability and Reliability of the Archival Data. Not the Last Word|url=http://sovietinfo.tripod.com/WCR-Secret_Police.pdf|journal=[[Europe-Asia Studies]]|volume=51|issue=2|pages=315–45|doi=10.1080/09668139999056|quote=During 1921–53, the number of sentences was (political convictions): sentences, 4,060,306; death penalties, 799,473; camps and prisons, 2,634397; exile, 413,512; other, 215,942. In addition, during 1937–52 there were 14,269,753 non-political sentences, among them 34,228 death penalties, 2,066,637 sentences for 0–1 year, 4,362,973 for 2–5 years, 1,611,293 for 6–10 years, and 286,795 for more than 10 years. Other sentences were non-custodial|archive-date=6 December 2019|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206042326/http://sovietinfo.tripod.com/WCR-Secret_Police.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> According to historian [[Stephen G. Wheatcroft|Stephen Wheatcroft]], approximately 1 million of these deaths were "purposive" while the rest happened through neglect and irresponsibility.<ref name="Wheatcroft1996">{{Cite journal|last=Wheatcroft|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen G. Wheatcroft|year=1996|title=The Scale and Nature of German and Soviet Repression and Mass Killings, 1930–45|url=https://sovietinfo.tripod.com/WCR-German_Soviet.pdf |journal=[[Europe-Asia Studies]]|volume=48|issue=8|pages=1334, 1348|doi=10.1080/09668139608412415|jstor=152781|quote=The Stalinist regime was consequently responsible for about a million purposive killings, and through its criminal neglect and irresponsibility it was probably responsible for the premature deaths of about another two million more victims amongst the repressed population, i.e. in the camps, colonies, prisons, exile, in transit and in the POW camps for Germans. These are clearly much lower figures than those for whom Hitler's regime was responsible.|archive-date=17 July 2011|access-date=12 June 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717103830/http://sovietinfo.tripod.com/WCR-German_Soviet.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The deaths of at least 3.5 to 6.5 million<ref>{{cite book |author1=R. Davies |author2=S. Wheatcroft |title=The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia Volume 5: The Years of Hunger: Soviet Agriculture 1931–1933|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4s1lCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA401|date=2009 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-23855-8 |page=401 }}</ref> persons in the [[Soviet famine of 1932–1933]] are sometimes, though not always, included with the victims of the [[Stalin era]].<ref name="Wheatcroft1996"/> Stalin has also been accused of [[Excess mortality in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin#Genocide allegations|genocide]] in the cases of [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|forced population transfer of ethnic minorities]] across the Soviet Union and the [[Holodomor]] famine.{{Sfnm|1a1=Chang|1y=2019|2a1=Moore|2y=2012}} However, British historian [[Michael Ellman]] argues that mass deaths from famines should be placed in a different category than the repression victims, mentioning that throughout [[History of Russia|Russian history]] famines and droughts have been a [[Droughts and famines in Russia and the Soviet Union|common occurrence]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/War-Communism|title=War Communism|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]]|author=((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica))}}</ref> Famines were widespread throughout the world in the 19th and 20th centuries in countries such as [[Great Chinese Famine|China]], [[Bengal famine of 1943|India]], [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Ireland]], and [[Droughts and famines in Russia and the Soviet Union|Russia]].{{Sfn|Ellman|2002|p=1172}} Ellman compared the behaviour of the [[Stalinist]] regime to that of the [[British government]] (towards Ireland and India) and the [[G8]] in contemporary times, and Stalin's "behaviour was no worse than that of many rulers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries".{{Sfn|Ellman|2002|p=1172}}

===In the Soviet Union and post-Soviet states===
{{See also|Neo-Stalinism|Nostalgia for the Soviet Union}}
[[File:RIAN archive 535278 Laying flowers and wreaths to Iosif Stalin's grave at Kremlin wall.jpg|thumb|Marxist–Leninist activists from the [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation]] laying wreaths at Stalin's Moscow grave in 2009]]

Shortly after his death, the Soviet Union went through a period of [[de-Stalinisation]]. Malenkov denounced the Stalin personality cult,{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=314}} and the cult was subsequently criticised in ''Pravda''.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=592}} In 1956, Khrushchev gave his "Secret Speech", titled "[[On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences]]", to a closed session of the [[20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Party's 20th Congress]]. There, [[Khrushchev Thaw|Khrushchev denounced Stalin]] for both his mass repression and his personality cult.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=314|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=577–579|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=594}} He repeated these denunciations at the [[22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|22nd Party Congress]] in October 1962.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=594}} In October 1961, Stalin's body was removed from the mausoleum and buried in the [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]], the location marked by a bust.{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=576|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=594}} Stalingrad was renamed [[Volgograd]] that year.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=595}}

Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation process ended when he was replaced as leader by [[Leonid Brezhnev]] in 1964; the latter introduced a level of re-Stalinisation within the Soviet Union.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=315|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=595}} In 1969 and again in 1979, plans were proposed for a full rehabilitation of Stalin's legacy but on both occasions were halted due to fears of damaging the USSR's public image.{{Sfn|Conquest|1991|p=315}} [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] saw the total denunciation of Stalin as necessary for the regeneration of Soviet society.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=596}}

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, [[Boris Yeltsin]] continued Gorbachev's denunciation of Stalin but added to it a denunciation of Lenin.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=596}} His successor [[Vladimir Putin]] did not seek to rehabilitate Stalin but emphasised the celebration of Soviet achievements under Stalin's leadership rather than the Stalinist repressions.{{Sfn|Service|2004|pp=596–597}} In October 2017, Putin opened the [[Wall of Grief]], a memorial to the victims of Stalin's repressions, in Moscow.{{Sfn|BBC, 5 June 2018}} Following the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the government and general public of Russia has been accused of rehabilitating Stalin.{{Sfnm|1a1=Nemtsova, 17 May 2021|2a1=Lentine, 25 June 2022}} In May 2025, Russian authorities re-added a statue of Stalin at the [[Taganskaya (Koltsevaya line)|Taganskaya metro station]] after the original was removed in 1966 as part of the 90th anniversary of the opening of the metro.<ref>{{Cite web |agency=Reuters |date=2025-05-23 |title=New Stalin monument in Moscow subway stirs debate |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/23/style/joseph-stalin-monument-moscow-metro-intl-scli |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2025-05-15 |title=Moscow Metro Installs Replica of Stalin Monument |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/05/15/moscow-metro-installs-replica-of-stalin-monument-a89089 |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=The Moscow Times |language=en}}</ref> In July, the [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation]] described Khrushchev's 1956 speech denouncing Stalin's cult of personality as a "mistake" and "politically biased", further urging Putin to restore "Stalingrad" as the official name of the Russian city of Volgograd.<ref>{{cite news |title=Russian Communist Party declares Khrushchev's 'secret speech' denouncing Stalin personality cult a 'mistake' |url=https://meduza.io/en/news/2025/07/07/russian-communist-party-declares-khrushchev-s-secret-speech-denouncing-stalin-personality-cult-a-mistake |access-date=7 July 2025 |work=[[Meduza]] |date=7 July 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

Admiration for Stalin has remained consistently widespread in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], although Georgian attitudes have been very divided.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=597}} A number of Georgians resent criticism of Stalin, the most famous figure from their nation's modern history.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=7}}

==See also==
* [[European interwar dictatorships]]
* [[List of places named after Joseph Stalin]]
* [[List of statues of Joseph Stalin]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist|28em}}

==Bibliography==
{{See also|Bibliography of Stalinism and the Soviet Union}}

===Academic books and journals===
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Bazhanov |first1=Boris |title=Bazhanov and the Damnation of Stalin |last2=Doyle |first2=David W. |publisher=Ohio University Press |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-5850-7670-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Brackman |first=Roman |title=The Secret File of Joseph Stalin: A Hidden Life |publisher=Frank Cass Publishers |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7146-5050-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Brackman |first=Roman |title=The Secret File of Joseph Stalin: A Hidden Life |publisher=Frank Cass Publishers |year=2004}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Brent |first1=Jonathan |title=Stalin's Last Crime: The Plot Against the Jewish Doctors, 1948–1953 |last2=Naumov |first2=Vladimir |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-0620-1367-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bullock |first=Alan |title=Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |year=1992}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Chang |first=Jon K. |date=8 April 2019 |title=Ethnic Cleansing and Revisionist Russian and Soviet History |journal=Academic Questions |volume=32 |issue=2 |page=270 |doi=10.1007/s12129-019-09791-8 |doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 |s2cid=150711796}}
* {{Cite book |last=Conquest |first=Robert |title=[[Stalin: Breaker of Nations]] |publisher=Penguin |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-1401-6953-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Conquest |first=Robert |title=The Great Terror: A Reassessment |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-1953-1699-5 |edition=fortieth anniversary}}
* {{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Norman |title=White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War 1919–20 and 'the Miracle on the Vistula' |publisher=Pimlico |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7126-0694-3 |orig-date=1972}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Robert |title=The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia Volume 5: The Years of Hunger: Soviet Agriculture 1931–1933 |last2=Wheatcroft |first2=Stephen |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-2302-3855-8}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Davies |first1=Robert |last2=Wheatcroft |first2=Stephen |year=2006 |title=Stalin and the Soviet Famine of 1932–33: A Reply to Ellman |url=https://www.uio.no/studier/emner/hf/iakh/HIS2319/h16/pensumliste/stalin-and-the-soviet-famine-of-1932-33_-a-reply-to-ellman.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |volume=58 |pages=625–633 |doi=10.1080/09668130600652217 |jstor=20451229 |s2cid=145729808 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630071851/https://www.uio.no/studier/emner/hf/iakh/HIS2319/h16/pensumliste/stalin-and-the-soviet-famine-of-1932-33_-a-reply-to-ellman.pdf |archive-date=30 June 2019 |access-date=7 October 2018 |number=4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Deutscher |first=Isaac |title=Stalin |publisher=Penguin |year=1966 |edition=revised}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nimVDwAAQBAJ |title=Great Immortality: Studies on European Cultural Sainthood |year=2019 |isbn=978-9-0043-9513-8 |editor-last=Dović |editor-first=Marijan |series=National Cultivation of Culture |volume=18 |editor-last2=Helgason |editor-first2=Jón Karl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121085120/https://books.google.com/books?id=nimVDwAAQBAJ |archive-date=21 November 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=29 April 2022}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Dower |first1=Paul Castañeda |last2=Markevich |first2=Andrei |date=May 2018 |title=Labor Misallocation and Mass Mobilization: Russian Agriculture during the Great War |url=https://www.nes.ru/files/Preprints-resh/WP238.pdf |url-status=live |journal=The Review of Economics and Statistics |volume=100 |issue=2 |pages=245–259 |doi=10.1162/REST_a_00726 |s2cid=55486912 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618062322/https://www.nes.ru/files/Preprints-resh/WP238.pdf |archive-date=18 June 2021 |access-date=11 September 2020}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Ellman |first=Michael |year=2000 |title=The 1947 Soviet Famine and the Entitlement Approach to Famines |journal=Cambridge Journal of Economics |volume=24 |issue=5 |pages=603–630 |doi=10.1093/cje/24.5.603}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Ellman |first=Michael |year=2002 |title=Soviet Repression Statistics: Some Comments |url=http://sovietinfo.tripod.com/ELM-Repression_Statistics.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |volume=54 |issue=7 |pages=1151–1172 |doi=10.1080/0966813022000017177 |s2cid=43510161 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525134942/http://sovietinfo.tripod.com/ELM-Repression_Statistics.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2019 |access-date=22 September 2018}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Ellman |first=Michael |year=2005 |title=The Role of Leadership Perceptions and of Intent in the Soviet Famine of 1931–1934 |url=http://www.paulbogdanor.com/left/soviet/famine/ellman.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |volume=57 |issue=6 |pages=823–841 |doi=10.1080/09668130500199392 |s2cid=13880089 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227181110/http://www.paulbogdanor.com/left/soviet/famine/ellman.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2009 |access-date=17 January 2010}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Ellman |first=Michael |year=2007 |title=Stalin and the Soviet Famine of 1932–33 Revisited |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |volume=59 |issue=4 |pages=663–693 |doi=10.1080/09668130701291899 |s2cid=53655536}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |year=1995 |title=Jews and Jewish Life in Russia and the Soviet Union |publisher=Frank Cass |last=Etinger |first=Iakov |editor-last=Ro'i |editor-first=Yaacov |series=The Cummings Center Series |pages=103–124 |isbn=0-7146-4619-9 |contribution=The Doctors' Plot: Stalin's Solution to the Jewish Question}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Fainsod |first1=Jerry F. |title=How the Soviet Union is Governed |last2=Hough |first2=Merle |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-6744-1030-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Foltz |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Foltz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZswEAAAQBAJ |title=The Ossetes: Modern-Day Scythians of the Caucasus. |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-7556-1845-3 |access-date=3 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218082625/https://books.google.com/books?id=YZswEAAAQBAJ |archive-date=18 February 2023 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gaddis |first=John L. |title=The Cold War: A New History |publisher=Penguin Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-1430-3827-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gellately |first=Robert |title=Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe |publisher=Jonathan Cape |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-2240-6283-1}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Getty |first1=J. Arch |author-link1=J. Arch Getty|last2=Rittersporn |first2=Gábor |last3=Zemskov |first3=Viktor |date=1993 |title=Victims of the Soviet penal system in the pre-war years: a first approach on the basis of archival evidence |url=http://sovietinfo.tripod.com/GTY-Penal_System.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[American Historical Review]] |volume=98 |issue=4 |pages=1017–1049 |doi=10.2307/2166597 |jstor=2166597 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206042327/http://sovietinfo.tripod.com/GTY-Penal_System.pdf |archive-date=6 December 2019 |access-date=21 September 2018}}
* {{Cite web |last=Glantz |first=David |year=1983 |title=August Storm: The Soviet 1945 Strategic Offensive in Manchuria |url=http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/LP7_AugustStormTheSoviet1945StrategicOffensiveInManchuria.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909233900/http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/LP7_AugustStormTheSoviet1945StrategicOffensiveInManchuria.pdf |archive-date=9 September 2017 |access-date=1 December 2018}}
* {{Cite web |last=Glantz |first=David |year=2001 |title=The Soviet-German War 1941–45 Myths and Realities: A Survey Essay |url=http://www.strom.clemson.edu/publications/sg-war41-45.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709141048/http://www.strom.clemson.edu/publications/sg-war41-45.pdf |archive-date=9 July 2011}}
* {{Cite conference |last1=Cheremukhin |first1=Anton |last2=Golosov |first2=Mikhail |last3=Guriev |first3=Sergei |last4=Tsyvinski |first4=Aleh |date=2013 |title=Was Stalin Necessary for Russia's Economic Development? |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w19425.pdf |series=w19425 |publisher=National Bureau of Economic Research |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822004606/https://www.nber.org/papers/w19425.pdf |archive-date=22 August 2020 |access-date=14 May 2020 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Sheila |title=On Stalin's Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics |publisher=Melbourne University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4008-7421-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Harris |first=James |title=The Great Fear: Stalin's Terror of the 1930s |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-1987-9786-9}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Haslam |first=Jonathan |year=1979 |title=The Comintern and the Origins of the Popular Front 1934–1935 |journal=The Historical Journal |volume=22 |pages=673–691 |doi=10.1017/s0018246x00017039 |s2cid=159573290 |number=3}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Healey |first=Dan |date=1 June 2018 |title=GOLFO ALEXOPOULOS. Illness and Inhumanity in Stalin's Gulag |url=https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/ou_press/golfo-alexopoulos-illness-and-inhumanity-in-stalin-s-gulag-i363rKPYOp |url-status=live |journal=[[The American Historical Review]] |volume=123 |issue=3 |pages=1049–1051 |doi=10.1093/ahr/123.3.1049 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708105319/https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/ou_press/golfo-alexopoulos-illness-and-inhumanity-in-stalin-s-gulag-i363rKPYOp |archive-date=8 July 2018 |access-date=23 September 2018}}
* Hass, Jeffrey K. (2025) "A study in leadership contrasts: Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin." in ''Case Studies in Political Leadership'' (Edward Elgar), pp.&nbsp;199–208. [https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/book/9781035328918/book-part-9781035328918-29.xml online]
* {{Cite journal |last=Himmer |first=Robert |year=1986 |title=On the Origin and Significance of the Name "Stalin" |journal=The Russian Review |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=269–286 |doi=10.2307/130111 |jstor=130111}}
* {{Cite book |last=Khlevniuk |first=Oleg V. |title=Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-3001-6388-9 |translator-last=Nora Seligman Favorov}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kotkin |first=Stephen |title=[[Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878–1928]] |publisher=Allen Lane |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-7139-9944-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kotkin |first=Stephen |title=[[Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941]] |publisher=Allen Lane |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-7139-9945-7}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Kuromiya |first=Hiroaki |year=2008 |title=The Soviet Famine of 1932–1933 Reconsidered |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=663–675 |doi=10.1080/09668130801999912 |jstor=20451530 |s2cid=143876370}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Li |first=Hua-yu |year=2009 |title=Reactions of Chinese Citizens to the Death of Stalin: Internal Communist Party Reports |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/265885 |url-status=live |journal=Journal of Cold War Studies |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=70–88 |doi=10.1162/jcws.2009.11.2.70 |s2cid=57561115 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624003711/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/265885 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |access-date=29 April 2016}}
* {{Cite book |last=McCauley |first=Martin |title=Stalin and Stalinism |publisher=Pearson |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-5825-0587-2 |edition=third}}
* {{Cite journal |last=McDermott |first=Kevin |year=1995 |title=Stalin and the Comintern during the 'Third Period', 1928–33 |journal=European History Quarterly |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=409–429 |doi=10.1177/026569149502500304 |s2cid=144922280}}
* {{Cite book |last=McDermott |first=Kevin |url=https://archive.org/details/stalinrevolution00mcde |title=Stalin: Revolutionary in an Era of War |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-3337-1122-4 |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Montefiore |first=Simon Sebag |title=Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-8421-2726-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Montefiore |first=Simon Sebag |title=Young Stalin |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-2978-5068-7}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Moore |first=Rebekah |year=2012 |title='A Crime Against Humanity Arguably Without Parallel in European History': Genocide and the "Politics" of Victimhood in Western Narratives of the Ukrainian Holodomor |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |volume=58 |pages=367–379 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.2012.01641.x |number=3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nekrich |first=Alexander |title=Pariahs, Partners, Predators: German-Soviet Relations, 1922–1941 |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1997 |isbn=0-2311-0676-9}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NoIajCLpLigC&q=order+of+precedence++1953+++Mikoyan++Vorosilov++Kaganovich&pg=PA20 |title=Flawed Succession: Russia's Power Transfer Crises |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7391-1403-2 |editor-last=Ra'anan |editor-first=Uri |access-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101024034/https://books.google.com/books?id=NoIajCLpLigC&q=order+of+precedence++1953+++Mikoyan++Vorosilov++Kaganovich&pg=PA20 |archive-date=1 January 2021 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Overy |first=Richard J. |url=https://archive.org/details/dictators00rich |title=The Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia |publisher=Allen Lane |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-3930-2030-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pinkus |first=Benjamin |title=The Soviet Government and the Jews 1948–1967: A Documented Study |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-5212-4713-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rappaport |first=Helen |title=Joseph Stalin: A Biographical Companion |publisher=ABC-Clio |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-5760-7084-0}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |year=2005 |title=Stalin: A New History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |last=Rieber |first=Alfred J. |editor-last=Davies |editor-first=Sarah |pages=18–44 |isbn=978-1-1394-4663-1 |editor2=James Harris |contribution=Stalin as Georgian: The Formative Years}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rees |first=E. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeWPAQAAQBAJ&dq=Stalin+psychopath&pg=PA219 |title=Iron Lazar: A Political Biography of Lazar Kaganovich |date=15 October 2013 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-7830-8057-1 |page=219 |access-date=23 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630051151/https://books.google.com/books?id=DeWPAQAAQBAJ&dq=Stalin+psychopath&pg=PA219 |archive-date=30 June 2023 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Roberts |first=Geoffrey |year=1992 |title=The Soviet Decision for a Pact with Nazi Germany |journal=Soviet Studies |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=57–78 |doi=10.1080/09668139208411994 |jstor=152247}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Roberts |first=Geoffrey |year=2002 |title=Stalin, the Pact with Nazi Germany, and the Origins of Postwar Soviet Diplomatic Historiography |journal=Journal of Cold War Studies |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=93–103 |doi=10.1162/15203970260209527 |s2cid=57563511}}
* {{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Geoffrey |title=Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939–1953 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-3001-5040-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Geoffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjNZEAAAQBAJ |title=Stalin's Library: A Dictator and His Books |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-3001-7904-0 |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203233625/https://books.google.com/books?id=yjNZEAAAQBAJ |archive-date=3 February 2024 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Rosefielde |first=Steven |date=September 1996 |title=Stalinism in Post-Communist Perspective: New Evidence on Killings, Forced Labour and Economic Growth in the 1930s |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |volume=48 |issue=6 |pages=959–987 |doi=10.1080/09668139608412393}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sandle |first=Mark |title=A Short History of Soviet Socialism |publisher=UCL Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-8572-8355-6 |doi=10.4324/9780203500279}}
* {{Cite book |last=Semeraro |first=David A. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bAXMDwAAQBAJ |title=Joseph Stalin |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-5267-0205-0 |access-date=17 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407223021/https://books.google.com/books?id=bAXMDwAAQBAJ |archive-date=7 April 2023 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Service |first=Robert |title=Lenin: A Biography |publisher=Macmillan |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-3337-2625-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Service |first=Robert |title=Stalin: A Biography |publisher=Macmillan |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-3337-2627-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |title=Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin |publisher=Vintage Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4070-7550-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Suny |first=Ronald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I4XzDwAAQBAJ |title=Red Flag Wounded |date=2020b |publisher=Verso Books |isbn=978-1-7887-3074-7 |page=59 |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813085731/https://books.google.com/books?id=I4XzDwAAQBAJ |archive-date=13 August 2023 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Suny |first=R. G. |title=Stalin: Passage to Revolution |publisher=Princeton University Press. |year=2020}} [https://www.amazon.com/Stalin-Revolution-Ronald-Grigor-Suny/dp/0691182035/ excerpt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119152008/https://www.amazon.com/Stalin-Revolution-Ronald-Grigor-Suny/dp/0691182035 |date=19 November 2020 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Volkogonov |first=Dimitri |title=Stalin: Triumph and Tragedy |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-2978-1080-3 |translator-last=Shukman |translator-first=Harold}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wettig |first=Gerhard |title=Stalin and the Cold War in Europe |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7425-5542-6}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Wheatcroft |first=Stephen |year=1996 |title=The Scale and Nature of German and Soviet Repression and Mass Killings, 1930–45 |url=http://sovietinfo.tripod.com/WCR-German_Soviet.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |volume=48 |issue=8 |pages=1319–1353 |doi=10.1080/09668139608412415 |jstor=152781 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717103830/http://sovietinfo.tripod.com/WCR-German_Soviet.pdf |archive-date=17 July 2011 |access-date=12 June 2006}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Wheatcroft |first=Stephen |date=1999 |title=The Great Leap Upwards: Anthropometric Data and Indicators of Crises and Secular Change in Soviet Welfare Levels, 1880–1960 |journal=[[Slavic Review]] |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=27–60 |doi=10.2307/2672986 |jstor=2672986 |pmid=22368819 |s2cid=43228133}}
{{Refend}}

===Magazines, newspapers, and websites===
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Citation |last=Allilueva |first=Svetlana |author-link=Svetlana Allilueva |translator-last=Johnson |translator-first=Priscilla |title=Twenty Letters to a Friend |year=1967 |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |isbn=0-060-10099-0}}
* {{Cite news |title=Joseph Stalin: An Address Given by the Rev. Stanley Evans, M.A., at a Memorial Service for Joseph Stalin at the Church of St. George, Queen Square, London, on March 13th, 1953 |ref={{Harvid|Evans|1953}}}}<br/>{{*}} {{Cite web |year=1953 |title=[online] |url=http://anglicanhistory.org/england/sgevans/stalin1953.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811115527/http://anglicanhistory.org/england/sgevans/stalin1953.html |archive-date=11 August 2022 |access-date=7 June 2022 |publisher=Society of Socialist Clergy and Ministers |via=anglicanhistory.org, transcribed by Richard Mammana 2019}}<br/>{{*}} {{Cite web |title=[online] |url=https://librarysearch.lse.ac.uk/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma9934039710302021&context=L&vid=44LSE_INST:44LSE_VU1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121071928/https://librarysearch.lse.ac.uk/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma9934039710302021&context=L&vid=44LSE_INST:44LSE_VU1 |archive-date=21 November 2022 |access-date=21 November 2022}}
* {{Cite web |last1=Bakradze |first1=Lasha |last2=Gudjov |first2=Lev |last3=Lipman |first3=Maria |last4=Wall |first4=Thomas |date=1 March 2013 |title=The Stalin Puzzle: Deciphering Post-Soviet Public Opinion |url=http://carnegieeurope.eu/2013/03/01/stalin-puzzle-deciphering-post-soviet-public-opinion-pub-51075 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402134541/http://carnegieeurope.eu/2013/03/01/stalin-puzzle-deciphering-post-soviet-public-opinion-pub-51075 |archive-date=2 April 2017 |access-date=2 April 2017 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace}}
* {{Cite news |last=Bell |first=Bethany |date=5 March 2013 |title=Georgia Divided Over Stalin 'Local Hero' Status in Gori |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21656615 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719183921/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21656615 |archive-date=19 July 2018 |access-date=21 June 2018 |ref={{Harvid|Bell, 5 March 2013}} |agency=BBC}}
* {{Cite web |last=Coynash |first=Halya |date=22 June 2021 |title=Russians name Stalin as the most 'outstanding' figure of all times |url=https://khpg.org//en/1608809237 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621214422/https://khpg.org//en/1608809237 |archive-date=21 June 2021 |publisher=[[Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group]] |ref={{Harvid|Coynash, 22 June 2021}}}}
* {{Cite web |last=Lentine |first=Gina |date=15 January 2022 |title=Moscow's Memory Wars: Putin seeks to whitewash Russia's Stalinist past |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/memory-wars-putin-seeks-to-whitewash-russias-stalinist-past/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625055122/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/memory-wars-putin-seeks-to-whitewash-russias-stalinist-past/ |archive-date=25 June 2022 |access-date=25 June 2022 |website=Atlantic Council |ref={{Harvid|Lentine, 25 June 2022}}}}
* {{Cite news |last=Luhn |first=Alec |date=16 April 2019 |title=Record 70 Percent of Russians Say Stalin Played a Positive Role in Their Country's History |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/16/record-70-per-cent-russians-approve-stalin/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130234249/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/16/record-70-per-cent-russians-approve-stalin/ |archive-date=30 November 2020 |access-date=23 November 2020 |work=The Daily Telegraph |ref={{Harvid|Luhn, 16 April 2019}}}}
* {{Cite web |last=Masci |first=David |date=29 June 2017 |title=In Russia, Nostalgia for USSR and Positive Feelings about Stalin |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/29/in-russia-nostalgia-for-soviet-union-and-positive-feelings-about-stalin/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129164332/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/29/in-russia-nostalgia-for-soviet-union-and-positive-feelings-about-stalin/ |archive-date=29 November 2020 |access-date=23 November 2020 |publisher=Pew Research Center |ref={{Harvid|Masci, 29 June 2017}}}}
* {{Cite news |last=Montefiore |first=Simon Sebag |date=6 September 2007 |title=Stalin, his father and the Rabbit |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2007/09/stalin-father-egnatashvili |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808094223/https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2007/09/stalin-father-egnatashvili |archive-date=8 August 2022 |access-date=8 August 2022 |work=The New Statesman |ref={{Harvid|Montefiore, 6 September 2007}}}}
* {{Cite web |last=Nemtsova |first=Anna |date=17 May 2021 |title='The best master': Russia's new Stalin Center evokes pride, revulsion |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-s-new-stalin-center-evokes-pride-revulsion-n1267521 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625055122/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-s-new-stalin-center-evokes-pride-revulsion-n1267521 |archive-date=25 June 2022 |access-date=25 June 2022 |website=NBC News |ref={{Harvid|Nemtsova, 17 May 2021}}}}
* {{Cite news |date=2 March 2013 |title=Poll Finds Stalin's Popularity High |url=https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/poll-finds-stalins-popularity-high-21998 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320024227/https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/poll-finds-stalins-popularity-high-21998 |archive-date=20 March 2017 |access-date=20 March 2017 |work=The Moscow Times |ref={{Harvid|''The Moscow Times'', 2 March 2013}}}}
* {{Cite news |last=Rutland |first=Peter |date=13 June 2019 |title=Perspective – Putin's dangerous campaign to rehabilitate Stalin |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/06/13/putins-dangerous-campaign-rehabilitate-stalin/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004175242/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/06/13/putins-dangerous-campaign-rehabilitate-stalin/ |archive-date=4 October 2021 |access-date=25 June 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |ref={{Harvid|Rutland, 13 June 2019}}}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Snyder |first=Timothy D. |date=26 May 2010 |title=Springtime for Stalin |url=http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2010/may/26/springtime-for-stalin/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024091842/http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2010/may/26/springtime-for-stalin/ |archive-date=24 October 2012 |access-date=4 January 2021 |magazine=The New York Review of Books |ref={{Harvid|Snyder, 26 May 2010}}}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Snyder |first=Timothy D. |date=27 January 2011 |title=Hitler vs. Stalin: Who Was Worse? |url=http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2011/01/27/hitler-vs-stalin-who-was-worse/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012090945/http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2011/01/27/hitler-vs-stalin-who-was-worse/ |archive-date=12 October 2017 |access-date=15 December 2016 |magazine=The New York Review of Books |ref={{Harvid|Snyder, 27 January 2011}}}}
* {{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Adam |date=15 February 2017 |title=Positive Views of Stalin among Russian Reach 16-year High, Poll Shows |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/15/positive-views-of-stalin-among-russians-reach-16-year-high-poll-shows/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320040114/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/15/positive-views-of-stalin-among-russians-reach-16-year-high-poll-shows/ |archive-date=20 March 2017 |access-date=30 April 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |ref={{Harvid|Taylor, 15 February 2017}}}}
* {{Cite news |date=5 June 2018 |title=Wall of Grief: Putin Opens First Soviet Victims Memorial |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41809659 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605175715/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41809659 |archive-date=5 June 2018 |access-date=30 October 2017 |ref={{Harvid|BBC, 5 June 2018}} |agency=BBC}}
* {{Cite news |date=18 April 2019 |title=Why So Many Russian like Dictator Stalin |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47975704 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719074954/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47975704 |archive-date=19 July 2019 |access-date=11 June 2019 |ref={{Harvid|BBC, 18 April 2019}} |agency=BBC News}}
* {{Cite web |last=Yegorov |first=Oleg |date=15 December 2017 |title=Why did the USSR help to create Israel, but then became its foe |url=https://www.rbth.com/history/327040-ussr-and-israel-from-friends-to-foes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204093524/https://www.rbth.com/history/327040-ussr-and-israel-from-friends-to-foes |archive-date=4 February 2022 |access-date=5 February 2022 |website=Russia Beyond |ref={{Harvid|Yegorov, 15 December 2017}}}}
* {{Cite news |date=4 March 2015 |title=Do Stalina pozytyvno stavlyatʹsya menshe 1/5 ukrayintsiv |script-title=uk:До Сталіна позитивно ставляться менше 1/5 українців |trans-title=Less Than 1/5 of Ukrainians Have a Positive Attitude Towards Stalin |url=http://pda.pravda.com.ua/news/id_7101130/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305024332/http://pda.pravda.com.ua/news/id_7101130/ |archive-date=5 March 2016 |access-date=5 March 2016 |work=Ukrayinska Pravda |language=uk |ref={{Harvid|''Ukrayinska Pravda'', 4 March 2015}}}}
* {{Cite journal |date=13 March 1943 |title=О присвоении Верховному Главнокомандующему вооруженными силами СССР Сталину И. В. военного звания Маршала Советского Союза |trans-title=On the assignment of the military rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union to the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR Stalin I.V. |url=http://sun.tsu.ru/mminfo/2020/000462771/1943/1943_011.pdf |url-status=live |language=ru |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120145303/http://sun.tsu.ru/mminfo/2020/000462771/1943/1943_011.pdf |archive-date=20 November 2021 |access-date=21 November 2021 |ref={{Harvid|''Journal of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR'', 13 March 1943}} |script-journal=ru:Ведомости Верховного Совета СССР |trans-journal=Journal of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links
| wikt = Stalin
| commons = Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин
| b = no
| n = no
| q = Joseph Stalin
| s = Author:Joseph Stalin
| v = no
| species = no
| d = y
}}
* [http://www.marx2mao.com/Stalin/Index.html Stalin Library (with all 13 volumes of Stalin's ''works'' and "volume 14")] at marx2mao.com
* [https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/ Revelations from the Russian Archives] at the [[Library of Congress]]
* [http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/ Joseph Stalin Internet Archive] at [[Marxists Internet Archive]]
* [http://www.stalindigitalarchive.com Stalin digital archive]
* [https://www.net-film.ru/en/found-page-1/?search=1900-1980qstalin Joseph Stalin Newsreels] at Net-Film
* [http://www.spartacus-educational.com/RUSstalin.htm Stalin Biography] at [[Spartacus Educational]]
* [http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Total%20Biblio/Stalin%20Bibliography.htm A List of Key Documentary Material on Stalin]
* ''[https://digital.library.pitt.edu/collection/stalinka-digital-library-staliniana Stalinka: The Digital Library of Staliniana]'' at the University of Pittsburgh Library
* {{PM20|FID=pe/016952}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-off}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Vyacheslav Molotov]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Premier of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Council of Ministers (Soviet Union)]]<br />{{small|Council of People's Commissars until 1946}}|years=1941–1953}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Georgy Malenkov]]}}
{{S-break}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Semyon Timoshenko]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union]]<br />{{small|People's Commissar until 1946}}|years=1941–1947}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Nikolai Bulganin]]}}
{{S-break}}
{{S-ppo}}
{{S-break}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Vyacheslav Molotov]]<br />{{small|''as'' [[Responsible Secretary]]}}}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]|years=1922–1952}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Nikita Khrushchev]]<br />{{small|''as'' [[First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|First Secretary]]}}}}
{{S-break}}
{{S-end}}
{{Joseph Stalin}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Articles and topics related to Joseph Stalin
| state = collapsed
| list1 =
{{Communist Party of the Soviet Union}}
{{Soviet Defence Ministers}}
{{Premiers of the Soviet Union}}
{{Marshals of the Soviet Union}}
{{Leaders of the Ruling Parties of the Eastern Bloc}}
{{19th Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union}}
{{18th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{17th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{16th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{15th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{14th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{13th Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{12th Politburo of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{11th Politburo of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{10th Politburo of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{9th Politburo of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{8th Politburo of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)}}
{{Russification}}
{{Time Persons of the Year|27–50}}
}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Communism|Georgia (country)|Soviet Union}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stalin, Joseph}}
[[Category:Joseph Stalin| ]]
[[Category:1878 births]]
[[Category:1953 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century atheists]]
[[Category:20th-century poets from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:20th-century Russian politicians]]
[[Category:Anti-Korean sentiment]]
[[Category:Anti-Polish sentiment]]
[[Category:Anti-religious campaign in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Anti-revisionists]]
[[Category:Anti-Romanian sentiment]]
[[Category:Anti-Zionism in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Atheists from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Burials at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis]]
[[Category:Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union) members]]
[[Category:Collars of the Order of the White Lion]]
[[Category:Comintern people]]
[[Category:Communists from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:First convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]]
[[Category:Second convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]]
[[Category:Third convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]]
[[Category:Former Georgian Orthodox Christians]]
[[Category:Generalissimos]]
[[Category:Heads of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Heads of government of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Heroes of Socialist Labour]]
[[Category:Heroes of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Honorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Male poets from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Marshals of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Marxism–Leninism]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 9th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 11th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 12th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 13th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 14th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 15th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 16th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Orgburo of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Secretariat of the 11th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Secretariat of the 12th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Secretariat of the 13th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Secretariat of the 14th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Secretariat of the 15th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Secretariat of the 16th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Secretariat of the 17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Secretariat of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Secretariat of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Members of the Bureau of the 7th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 9th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 11th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 12th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 13th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 14th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 15th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 16th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Presidium of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 6th Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 7th Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 6th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 7th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 9th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 11th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 12th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 13th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 14th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 15th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 16th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Ministers of defence of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Natalist politicians]]
[[Category:Old Bolsheviks]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of genocides of indigenous peoples]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of the Great Purge]]
[[Category:People from Gori, Georgia]]
[[Category:People from Tiflis Governorate]]
[[Category:People of the Cold War]]
[[Category:People of the Holodomor]]
[[Category:People of the Polish–Soviet War]]
[[Category:People of the Russian Civil War]]
[[Category:People of World War II from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of the Red Terror (Russia)]]
[[Category:Politicians from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Victory]]
[[Category:Revolutionaries from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Russian Constituent Assembly members]]
[[Category:Russian anti-fascists]]
[[Category:Russian atheism activists]]
[[Category:Russian communist poets]]
[[Category:Russian exiles]]
[[Category:Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members]]
[[Category:Russification]]
[[Category:Signatories of the Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]]
[[Category:Soviet atheists]]
[[Category:Soviet Georgian generals]]
[[Category:Soviet male poets]]
[[Category:Soviet people of World War II]]
[[Category:Stalinism|*]]
[[Category:Time Person of the Year]]
[[Category:World War II political leaders]]
[[Category:Tobacco-related deaths]]